


Dragon

by odat



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: AU, F/M, dragon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-07
Updated: 2014-05-24
Packaged: 2017-11-24 01:00:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 37,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/628497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/odat/pseuds/odat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maka is sacrificed to the dragon Soul Eater.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sacrifice

**Author's Note:**

> Dragon!Soul is now a thing.

There is a great and powerful dragon that terrorizes their city. He's known as the Soul Eater, his victims are found dead with their faces frozen in painful screams but their eyes emotionless even in death. Those who have seen the dragon say he is as pale as death itself with haunting red eyes. Many knights had gone to kill the beast and none had returned. The village at a loss decided to sacrifice a girl who had just come of age. There were many councils held to decide but it took one of the village leader's daughter volunteering. She was a bright girl, head strong and aware that she would be hard pressed to find a husband, and she cared deeply for her town and her friends. Her father was distraught; his daughter was all he really had left. But through her selflessness the town rejoiced, they threw a great feast in her honor the night before the new moon when she was to travel to the Soul Eater's mountain.

Maka looked at her family and friends, they were all trying to be happy and merry and lift her spirits. But they were all worried; they applauded her bravery and courage and commended her father for having raised such a miraculous daughter. She looked at the mountain she was to climb the next day and wondered what would happen when she met the dragon.

Her father was the only one given the honor of seeing her off. They had dressed her in an uncomfortable white dress that dragged behind her slightly. Her father's apologies and wailings went unnoticed to her as they walked to the edge of town. When they reached the final gate, where he was no longer allowed to follow her, Maka turned to him, kissed him on the cheek and forgave him for his transgressions. She told him she loved him and with that left before he could stop her.

Once she was a modest distance away, Maka collected her skirt together in a knot at her knees so that it would not drag and detoured to an outcropping of rocks. There she found her sword, belted it to her hip and continued on her way. She knew it would be a futile effort, but she would rather try to make something of her sacrifice rather than just appease the monster for a short while.

The nearer she drew to the summit the colder it became. The wind tore at her cloak though it hardly offered much warmth at all. Sometimes Maka swore she could see snow whipping by her but she continued on to where they had figured the dragon would live. Skirting along a cliff the mountain evened out and she found herself starting at the rolling clouds below her. The wind began to pick up, though not in normal direction, it seemed to come at her from all sides and that was when she heard the sound of wings.

Hastily drawing her sword Maka readied herself to die, she had thought about many things during her journey here and come to terms with herself. But she had promised herself she wouldn't die without a fight. The dragon landed a length away from her, his white scales glistening from flying through the clouds. Maka brandished her sword which made the dragon cock his head to the side to examine her. She was shaking from the cold and her adrenaline as he looked at her with one great red eye and then the other before he seemed to decide something and settled down on the ground. His wings folded neatly to rest on his back as he crossed his front legs over one another in an almost civil fashion.

Maka wasn't sure what to do, she could stab him in the eye, but surely he would see it coming and just lift his head. His breast plate was far too well armored to pierce with her sword. "Just, now what?" She spluttered. The dragon blinked at her before a particularly violent gust of wind had her staggering towards his head. Maka shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold, his red eyes were unnerving and they had not left her since he had landed. "Are you going to eat me or not?" Maka spat at him, "I'm the sacrifice from the village so you'll leave them alone. So get it over with already!"

The dragon snorted and before her eyes disappeared as a cloud rolled over them.

"You're not very sacrificial for a sacrifice." A very masculine and gravelly voice called from within the cloud, Maka's breath caught in her throat. She wasn't sure dragons could speak, but who else could have said such a thing.

"I'm not going to eat you." He was right in front of her, she startled, dropping her sword when two strong arms shot out to catch her around the waist before she could fall backwards. The cloud passed and she was left looking at a man with two bright crimson eyes with slit pupils.

"Then what are you going to do with me?" Her voice was softer than she had meant it to be.

"Keep you." The dragon Soul Eater all but purred in her ear.


	2. Hoard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's not sure she appreciates her new nickname.

Hoard

He wasn't sure what had come over him, he should have just eaten her. Not that she would have made much of a meal, all scrawny and bony; but she amused him. It had been many years since something had amused him, or even caught his interest. It was about time that he started to hoard again, he'd hardly been collecting and she was a perfect new addition. Her waist was small under his hands, the white dress she was in was far too large and she was even smaller than he'd originally thought. He grinned, she would have made a terrible snack.

The girl flinched and tried to lean back but his hands kept her from moving too far away. He realized after a moment his teeth probably scared her, he gave her credit for not fainting at the sight of him though. He smirked and she shivered, this girl would definitely amuse him. Her green eyes surprised him, she didn't appear to be afraid of him. "You're quite defiant, aren't you little one?" She shivered again and glared. "Sleep."

It was a simple spell and Maka found that she could no longer keep her eyes open, she struggled for a moment to stay conscious, but the dragon was adjusting his hold on her and his chest was quite warm against her cold cheeks; perhaps a moment of rest would not be such a bad thing her head sang. Maka thought that the dragon muttered something but she couldn't quite understand from the warm haze of sleep.

He swore that if she were a cat she would have been purring, the girl had snuggled right up against him much to his shock and remained to be perfectly content even as he walked to the entrance of his dwelling. The farther he walked down into the heart of the mountain the more troubled he became, the girl could prove to be a huge inconvenience for him; having a pet was not something he had really considered when he had crafted his home. He could spare some of his furs and pillows for her to make her own nest, but what would she do while he was off hunting? He had many great treasures in his hoard, but much of it was quite private and he quickly decided that she did not need to see much of it. The gold and the jewels he could care less about but there were other things that he would need to put walls around. He sighed and it ruffled her hair. "Defiant and already causing me trouble. Just what have I done?" He wondered aloud.

Maka woke slowly, she was warm and she could feel her toes. She considered sliding further down into the furs to hide her nose from the chill in the room when she realized neither she nor her father kept furs on their beds. She sat up quickly and scanned the room, except it wasn't so much of a room as a cavern. She wanted to look around at the rugs on the floors or the art leaning against the walls, but she immediately met the red eyes of the dragon. He was perched on an ornate chest across from her with a lazy grin on his face. Maka tried not to shy away from his gaze. "It's rude to stare." She reminded him before feeling very self conscious when he burst out laughing.

"So you're feisty as well. You just might be worth the trouble." He was grinning again as he moved off the chest and to the fire roaring off to the side of the cavern in a nook. "Your people call me the Soul Eater yes?" He eyed her over his shoulder, the girl was small in his nest but he liked how she looked among the pillows. Her eyebrows furrowed before she answered.

"Yes, because of how painfully they seem to die. As thought their souls had been taken." Her tone was harsh. He hummed for a moment.

"Then you may simply call me Soul. And had you noticed that those who I ate," he chuckled at the term, "never seemed to be good people?" Maka stopped her retort, the more she thought about it, the more he was right. Each of those who had died, were suspected of terrible things though many were never brought to justice.

"So you're a dragon with a conscious? A set of morals?" She spat.

"No. I simply feed off the evil in people." The girl began to argue, claiming that there was no way that all of the people they had found dead were evil people. Soul snorted in disgust. "You didn't pay very close attention to your village. That baker of yours was doing terrible things to his children." His lips curled in disgust; that soul had been particularly slimy and Soul had taken great pleasure in ridding the family of their father.

"So you were just protecting us?" Her utter disbelief was evident.

"No, I was surviving, you just happened to benefit from it." He shrugged and turned his attention back to the fire. A chill had crept into his home while he had been gone and that simply wouldn't do now that he had a pet. He turned back to her, "Well little one, not quite the monster you were expecting." She raised her chin in a small act of rebelliousness but did not argue with him.

"Maka."

"Say again?"

"My name is Maka, not "little one."" She answered. Soul was surprised, his pet already had a name.

"I will call you by your name when I am completely certain I won't eat you." Her squeak made him chuckle. "Until then, you'll just have to make do, little one." He grinned at her and this time she didn't flinch at the sight of his teeth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Ravyn from long long ago for her KenKao fic "Little One" sorry I've kind of borrowed the endearment.


	3. Cold

They settled into a strange routine that involved glaring on her part and growling on his. He was infuriating but mostly because Soul enjoyed watching her flush travel from her cheeks down to her neck and sometimes is she was mad enough to her chest. He'd been lounging across from her by the fire with his shirt off and his pants loose around his hips which seemed to make her sputter indignantly, much to his amusement. She'd taken the rolls and smoked meat he'd offered hesitantly before eating happily in her nook.

His pet had been horrified when she'd realized she had been sleeping in his nest of furs and insisted that she make her own. He'd shrugged not caring either way. She was careful to always keep an eye on him, everything she'd ever been taught said that he was dangerous; a thoughtless mindless beast that killed indiscriminately. He looked lazier than anything else though, completely relaxed and napping like he didn't have a care in the world. Maka wasn't sure what to make of the Soul Eater, he hadn't hurt her just threatened to eat her and made fun of her, but he'd been over all indifferent towards her presence.

The boundaries he'd set up around the entrances to the lower levels where his real hoard was kept had gone unnoticed. He couldn't decide if her lack of magic was a good thing or not. She'd be more of a problem if she had any training, but she may have been more entertaining. Without magic it was just too easy, but less of a hassle.

Night had fallen and Soul could taste the storm and the cold coming. Winter would be coming early this year and there would be more preparation than before if he wanted to keep his pet fed as well as himself. He sighed, winters as a dragon were not something he looked forward to; the cold slowed his blood down even as a human and it crept into his bones chilling him from the inside out. He stood at the tunnel that led to the entrance feeling the storm as cold air washed over his bare feet.

The girl, Maka she'd said her name was, had fallen asleep with her nose under a book. He rolled his eyes and made his way over to her wondering why he was bothering with her. She let go of the book easily and Soul pulled one of the furs up to cover her completely before going to his own nest. It was going to be a cold night and if he didn't stay warm he was going to wake up stiff and in a bad mood in the morning.

Maka waited until she heard the rustle of furs and even then she didn't move until his breath was even and slow. She'd kept her boots on and had been using the worn cloak as a light blanket before the dragon had decided to pull the furs up. That action had startled her; it was much too kind and gentle for someone like him. It didn't fit with her ideas of his behavior. She scoffed silently and slowly made her way out of the cave. The soft crackle of the fire helped to cover the sound of her steps on the stone floor when there weren't any rugs to step on. Maka kept an eye on him as she moved trying to gauge if any of her movements had woken him but he continued to sleep.

She was patient until she reached the hall and bolted. She dashed up the sloped path on her toes so the heels of her boots wouldn't echo back to the cavern. The walls were jagged and when Maka turned a corner too quickly she cut her shoulder. It was enough to make her yelp in surprise more out of pain but the sharp sting that followed had her gritting her teeth. She gave up trying to be quiet and ran with one hand over the gash trying to staunch the blood.

It was like running into a wall of ice, the snow was coming down in thick clumps and the winds were even fiercer than when she had traveled up the mountain. The cold was immediate; it cut right through her core making Maka shiver painfully. She stood for a moment trying to get her bearings but the snow was too thick and she could barely see two feet in front of her. "If I turn around, I'm sure to die. But if I try to brave this, I'm likely to die as well." She half muttered through freezing lips. The trek up had been hazardous when the visibility was good, but now in a blizzard it would be almost impossible to tell the edge of a cliff from a simple step down. While the Soul Eater had done her no harm, she didn't fancy being fattened up and eaten later. "Snow it is." The winds tore the words from her mouth as she stomped through the snow to try to return home.

Soul awoke slowly to the smell of copper. Something wasn't quite right his magic kept whispering something was off. The cold had settled into the mountain making him groggy, but his instincts were shouting that he needed to be awake. Between the magic tingling in his fingertips and the hairs on the back of his neck standing up Soul managed to shake of most of the cold before standing to inspect his home for any disturbance, he immediately knew what was wrong. "Stupid, good for nothing, should have just eaten her in the first place!" He continued his tirade as he grasped for his boots and an old black coat he'd previously shoved under a pelt as a pillow. His slow reaction time to the smell of blood worried him.

He found the rock that had cut her, but the blood was cold and beginning to turn brown, it wasn't fresh and she had a good head start on him. Soul ran, he wouldn't be able to be out in the storm for long but he needed to find her. Even through the cold smell of ice he could smell the blood trail and find small drops in the snow.

Maka was struggling to stay upright; the storm was even worse than she had anticipated and blood was dripping down her limp arm. The cold air hurt to breathe and each time she stumbled she could only hope that she was still moving in the right direction. A roar sent Maka running as quickly as she could through the snow, she screamed but the tore the sound away when she was tackled into the snow. The dragon was livid, his eyes a ferocious red and she couldn't tell hair from snow. He pulled Maka up and slung her over his shoulder with a snarl that not even the wind could take away. His movements were jerky and slow but his grip was tight around her.

He was walking slowly and Maka wasn't sure if it was because of the storm or not. His own breathing was labored and he was gripping her so tightly it hurt. They couldn't have been more than a few hundred yards from the entrance of the cave when the dragon sank to one knee. His scowl was practically frozen on his face and his body wasn't cooperating anymore. He wasn't going to be able to drag himself or his pet back to the warmth of the cave. The girl managed to break free and was running again as he finally slumped into the snow, too cold to move.

Maka wasn't sure what was wrong with him or why he'd stopped but she wasn't going to get another chance like this one. She glanced back, surely he'd get up and go back to his home, but he was still lying in the snow, black cloak billowing out behind him. Maka stopped, completely torn; if she left him there he would die. But he was a dragon! She could go back to the village a hero. But he'd died trying to bring her back, Maka swore with each step she took back towards the dragon. She would not have his inadvertent idiotic death on her conscious. He was cold to the touch which worried her but she managed to sling his arm over her shoulder and start to drag him back to the cave.


	4. Pillowed

Soul should have known he was going to wake up cold, stiff, and grouchy no matter what, storms that bad were impossible to deal with. But as he blinked back the sand and what he suspected may have once been ice from his eyes, he was surprisingly warm. He was still colder than he preferred but warmer than he should have been. He felt sluggish and too heavy but that was a consequence of being cold-blooded and becoming chilled. He tried to sit up, but there was something solid pinning his right arm and resting on his chest. Soul's eyes narrowed dangerously when he remembered his pet escaping and then the bone deep cold that he'd been caught in. He glanced down, but couldn't see past tousled blond hair. His pet was draped over and tucked into him and apparently acting as his own person heater.

There were furs draped haphazardly over them, like she'd tried to pull them up with one hand. Her breathing was even but her brow was furrowed like she was displeased with something. Soul figured that it was him and tried to smooth the lines with a gentle brush of his thumb before he really knew what he was doing. This little woman had dragged him back to his cave instead of leaving him to die and escaping. He reached for the furs and pulled them up farther so they were both covered. It felt too early to be truly awake and sleep sounded nice.

After being so thoroughly chilled, Maka wasn't sure that she was ever going to be warm again. She had barely managed to get them back inside and she was almost thankful that her fingers had practically frozen while she was grasping him. She'd cursed her morals, the dragon, the snow and everything else she could think of when he wouldn't warm up by the fire. It had taken her a while to convince herself that it would be warmer for her as well if she was next to him. But eventually she'd arranged them in a way that was comfortable if far too intimate for her liking. Maka had enjoyed whispering death threats and retaliation until she'd fallen asleep gently wrapped in the dragon's arms.

This was not how she had fallen asleep, she was sure of it. She'd been tucked against his side using his chest as a pillow and not completely smothered by his arms wrapped around her. He'd turned on his side and was holding her against him, their legs tangled together and her toes warm against his calves. Maka didn't dare breathe; she was mortified regardless of how comfortable she was. Her nose was too close to his collar bone and her eyes followed a pale scar until they met lazy red eyes. She squeaked but the only place to hide was against his chest which wouldn't help her at all.

He'd been awake for a while, it was now the late morning and he hadn't felt the need to wake her, plus Soul had been looking forward to her reaction of their position. He wasn't disappointed. She turned bright red and started to sputter what may have been threats but her voice was high it she sounded more like bird. Soul laughed, warm and amused, not a bad way to wake up for a second time, his pet did not take kindly to his laughing and started to beat his chest with her fists. "You vile, horrid, useless, cold blooded reptile! I saved your scaly hide and you're laughing at me? Unhand me you awful lizard!" He realized belatedly as she thrashed against him that his favorite part of riling her up wasn't the way her skin flushed, but the way her eyes became clear and so intently focused.

Soul also realized just how strong he was when she finally landed a punch to his side. He huffed and released her; Maka was out of his arms and across the room before he could blink. She had her arms crossed over herself and was shaking badly. "Why didn't I leave?" She asked herself trying to not look at the dragon.

"I'd be interested in that answer as well." He responded. Soul did feel a bit bad for cuddling her against her will; he hadn't expected such strong aversion or repulsion from her. Was he really so awful? She eyed him warily as though he might jump her or force her back into the nest. Apparently he was. "I apologize for laughing at you, little one. You amuse me, that is all." The dragon's sincere apology threw Maka for a loop, she hadn't expected that.

"Thank you. I suppose some of my comments were rather harsh." He raised an eyebrow; he wasn't letting her off the hook that easily. Maka decided to play dirty, "And you're welcome for saving your life." Soul snorted and glared at the hearth.

Soul stood but didn't approach her, "I suppose a thank you is in order for that."

"Does that mean I can leave and you won't stop me?" The words came rushing out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

He stared at her, "I said a thank you, not a full pardon, and you were sacrificed to me, little one." He scoffed, "What makes you think I'll ever let you go?"

Maka bit her lip, so there was no way out. "For what reason? Why keep me?"

Soul stopped himself from blurting out "midnight snack" and considered why he had kept her. "You amuse me." He said again with a shrug. It was the truth and he had no real interest in examining just why he was so taken with her.

"I saved your life, you could at least decide not to eat me and call me by my name."

"I spared your life, little one, and you saved mine, yes. So now we're even on that account. But you're still mine." His words were final and to further prove his point he turned his back to her to try and rekindle the fire. He'd been stacking the leftover wood and kindling when something hit his back. There was a pillow on the floor and his pet had two more in her hands. Too stunned to move the next pillow hit him directly in the face.

"My name is Maka!" She shouted before throwing a third and a fourth pillow. He swatted them down and advanced on her.

"And I told you I'd call you by your name when I'm sure I won't eat you, tiny tits!" He roared back. Maka gaped at him, looked down at her chest and then back to him. She was seething. Soul quickly found out how deadly her aim was with a book when he took one to the forehead.

"You are not helping your case if you don't want to be eaten." He growled. Maka ignored him and continued to chuck whatever she could get her hands on at him.

"You don't even eat people! You eat souls for crying out loud, Soul Eater!" Her tone was mocking and she paused for a second to look for more ammunition. Soul took advantage of the opening.

"Doesn't mean that I wouldn't enjoy the feel of you between my teeth." He was right in front of her and before she could retaliate he was holding both of her wrists in one hand. Soul pushed her back against the wall of the cavern and brought her wrists above her head. Green eyes watched, but she was still too angry to be frightened by him. "Should I start here?" He nosed at the corner of her jaw before swiping his tongue against her skin. It was rough, almost like a cat's and it pulled at her skin; Maka's resolve steeled, she would not give him the satisfaction of her voice. "Or perhaps here?" He had to bend down to lick at the hollow of her throat but it was worth her shiver. He worried the skin with his overly sharp teeth, enjoying the way she quivered before pulling back to look at her.

"Remember little one, I am a dragon." She met his gaze and refused to look away.

"And you remember this," She hissed, "I will never be yours."


	5. Fever

"They say that you're the best at what you do." The little light offered from the candles was shrouded by thick clouds of pipe smoke. The knight seemed at ease in the dank environment or he simply wasn't bothered by it. A brawl broke out and one of the bar maidens shrieked. There were dozens of laws being broken but Spirit did his best to turn a blind eye, he had business with the knight.

"I am the very best. I'll slay the beast and be back before sundown."

"And your price?"

The knight grinned and leaned forward, his armor was highly polished and glinted in the darkness, "The hand of the fair maiden I rescue should suffice. But if she's ugly, a bag of gold." Spirit was torn between defending his daughter's beauty and demanding that the knight take the gold instead. "Excalibur and I will vanquish the dragon that plagues you and free your daughter!" The knight's outburst was drowned out by the cheering of the drunken mob and Spirit pulled his cloak tighter around him.

She was making him uncomfortable in his own home. His pet had been uncharacteristically quiet after their fight; she'd retreated to her nest in the far corner and burrowed into the blankets and furs. It'd been nice to have some semblance of normalcy in his cave right up until her silence started to annoy him as well. The food he left for her was barely touched and she ignored all of his insults which further irked him.

Soul wanted to fly, magic thrummed along his shoulders and the cave was beginning to feel cramped. Open skies and cold winds would do him a world of good, but he could still taste the snow outside. He needed to go hunting for soul as well as replenish his food stores, keeping his pet fed was draining them rather quickly. Rolling his shoulder in annoyance, Soul glanced over to where the girl was sleeping. Blond hair was hardly visible but he could see her shivering from under the thick blankets. Watching her was oddly calming from his perch by the hearth. The cave was warmed by the fire and his magic insulated and radiated heat, there was no reason for her to be cold.

A small whimper caught his attention and Soul scowled. "I haven't even threatened to eat you today, little one, why are you crying?" He crossed the cave until he was standing over her little nest. "Little one?" There was a weak cough and she shivered harder when he kneeled down and pulled the blankets back. Her face was flushed with the fever he could feel and he wasn't even touching her. Soul reached forward to clutch her shoulders but stopped when he noticed the dark stain on her shoulder. A growl escaped and she blearily opened glassy eyes, "Your shoulder was never treated."

She screamed and he fell back startled, his pet kept trying to scramble away from him but she was so wrapped in the furs and blankets she couldn't get away. "Little one, stop thrashing!" Soul growled at her while trying to see how bad the wound was and avoid her flailing limbs. His pet was completely terrified however and fought back as much as she could, "Enough!" Soul finally roared after she elbowed him in the cheek. Her face crumpled and she openly sobbed, he stopped he hadn't meant to scare her even more.

"Little one, I'm not trying to hurt you." She flinched when his fingers brushed her arm. "I need to look at your shoulder, alright?" Soul kept his voice soft and low as he inched towards her, there were still tears streaming down her face and her arms were clasped in front of her chest. A shudder racked her body when the tips of his fingers finally brushed around the tear on her shoulder. Her skin was hot even through the fabric and he could just see the red irritated skin underneath. Glancing back to her face was a mistake. Her eyes were clenched shut in pain and fear and it startled Soul just how much he didn't want her to be afraid of him.

He needed to get her closer to the fire and he needed to clean out her shoulder. "Maka, I'm going to pick you up, alright?" She blinked at him and cringed when Soul leaned forward. He hushed her when she cried out and quickly picked her up holding her close with one arm around her back and the other under her knees, careful not to jostle her shoulder or upset her further. All fight left her and that troubled Soul almost as much as when she'd been terrified of him.

The world was either moving too quickly while she was standing still or she was moving too fast for the world to keep up. There was a constant uncomfortable buzz in the back of her mind and she felt overheated and cold all at once. Darkness dripped over her and covered her eyes to everything except a vicious red eyed demon that snarled at her, sharp teeth glinted in the black and they threatened to swallow her whole. There was no escape from the rumbling or the pain no matter how hard she tried.

But then she was warm, there was a sharp ache in her shoulder that echoed through her whole body and made her want to curl up on herself but the solid warmth kept her still and hummed soothingly. It didn't last long and the humming chased away the uncomfortable buzz and Maka found that she hurt less when she moved closer to the warmth. Maybe the red wasn't so terrifying, it was more concerned and gentle, it wrapped her up and she felt safe. Maka liked that and decided that maybe red wasn't such bad color after all.

She'd settled against him with a soft sigh once he was done cleaning her shoulder and Soul resisted growling at her for letting it get infected. He'd shredded her dress to get at the wound but tried to preserve as much of her modesty as he could. There was a trunk with silks and other garments tucked away somewhere, he'd let her go through it to pick something more comfortable when she was awake. Until then, Soul figured he could keep her warm, but as soon as she started to wake he would leave the nest. The last thing they needed was a repeat from the last time they woke up together.

As much as he wanted to nap and enjoy the heat from the fire and her form against him, Soul instead focused and unfocused his eyes on his pet. The world shifted into a sharper focus and the light from the fire became almost unbearably bright, but Soul watched the shallow breaths and the flutter of the girl's eyelashes until the red tendrils of his magic appeared. His magic was its own entity that relied on instincts rather than common sense and he had only been foolish enough to ignore it twice before he learned that the magic wouldn't lead him astray.

Red laced through the walls and the floor of the cave, radiating from the concentrated sparking fire in the hearth and gathered around him and his pet. The realization that his magic was healing her, just like it did him when he was injured, almost startled him out of his enhanced sight. Magic wove around the angry red of her skin and Soul could actually watch the worst of her wound heal. He huffed lightly, he had so little control over his own magic that it was healing her of its own volition, but he knew better than to ignore it. If his magic had decided that she was important enough to heal, then maybe she wasn't just a pet to amuse him.

"Well little one, the magic says that you're already mine."

The world seemed duller when he blinked away the magic and Soul finally gave into his desire to nap. It was a pity his pet didn't like napping with him because he found it quite comfortable. His last thought before he fell asleep was that he'd said her name and rather liked how it sounded.

She wasn't warm anymore, or she wasn't as warm as she wished, but she wasn't overwhelmingly cold either. Maka stirred trying to figure out what was missing. Unable to find comfort in the pillows or blankets she peeked out and groaned when she once again found herself in the dragon's nest by the hearth. He was at least missing this time, rather than being curled around her. It took her a moment to scan the cave, but the dragon didn't appear to be lounging in any of his normal spots.

She sat up and fought back a shiver, why were the tops of her shoulders cold? The white dress was in tatters around her chest and the cut on her shoulder from when she'd tried to escape had been wrapped. A grunt and the sound of something being dragged made her glance back to one of the far walls of the cave where the dragon was pulling a chest, Maka was sure that a moment ago he hadn't been there. He looked over to the nest and seemed to be surprised that she was looking back at him.

"There should be some shirts in here." He grumbled before turning away. "I have to go hunting, little one, which leaves you with two options. One, I chain you to the cave so you don't escape and further injure yourself or two, you swear that you will not move from that nest otherwise I will eat you."

"You?" Maka's voice was raspy and she couldn't finish her question as she started to cough violently. Soul was at her side almost immediately and pushing a roughly made clay mug into her hands for her to drink from. "You took care of me?" Her disbelief that the vicious dragon Soul Eater would have taken care of her shoulder and fever. "Why?"

His smirk would have been much more menacing if he hadn't taken the mug from her hands so gently when she was done drinking. "Rest little one, you've been quite sick. I'll be back with food." Soul stood quickly and shot her a grin over his shoulder when she was sitting up in the nest and watching him, he found the crease between her eyebrows rather endearing. He rolled his shoulders as he walked out of the cave and shifted into his bright white scales and wings without looking back.


	6. Move

"You promised you wouldn't move."

"All I did was get a book."

He'd been gone for several hours and Maka had grown quite bored of constantly napping. She hadn't seen the dragon read, but he had stacks of books scattered throughout the entire cave. Many of them were in other languages that used symbols or different alphabets, some she knew of and could sound out the words she recognized but there were books that were so old and foreign to her that Maka wondered if the languages were even still alive. It had been hard to choose just one book to bring back into the nest with her, but she'd selected what appeared to be a chronicle of legends.

When Soul had lumbered back into his cave and found her propped up with the book in her lap he'd snorted and set the knotted blanket full of food down near the hearth. His pet had stiffened when she's glanced up and seen that he was a dragon, but she still met his eyes without hesitation. Soul grinned as much as he could and shifted down in a swirl of thick white mists that quickly dissipated when he stepped forward as a man once more.

His frown was more humorous that it was serious as he eyed the book she'd chosen. "Taking notes on how to be a proper sacrifice? 'Cause I think it involves a lot more groveling, little one." Her scoff made him grin even more and she carefully marked her page and then hurled the book at him. Soul laughed outright when he caught it which made her pout. "Think you need to read a bit more, damsels in distress aren't supposed to fight back."

"And dragons aren't supposed to play with their food either." She shot back when he turned to unpack the food he'd gathered. "Or help them when they're sick." The accusation was overshadowed by questions she didn't know how to ask. "Dragon?"

"I said you could call me Soul."

"And I told you that my name is Maka." The way she growled her name as if it was supposed to intimidate him was cute enough to make him grin again. He handed her a bowl of steaming broth with thick cut slices of bread.

"Yes and we both know how that conversation ended last time." Soul forced a spoonful of broth into her mouth if only to distract his little pet.

"I can do it just fine, thank you very much!" Maka sputtered after stealing the spoon from him.

"You're very welcome, little one." He teased but quickly moved away when she made to hit him with the spoon. His pet was decidedly dangerous when armed but he rather liked how feisty she was, even while sick. Soul returned to the hearth and finished unpacking the food he'd gathered. The last thing in the bundle was a small box of tea that he'd seen and hadn't been able to resist buying, he wondered if it would be the same blend he remembered from so long ago.

Soul ventured back to the nest to retrieve the mug she'd been using and to see how she was progressing on her meal. Maka made several attempts to whack him with the spoon but she was careful not to spill and broth that was left on the nest for which he was grateful and her range was fairly limited because of her shoulder. Chuckling while she glowered, Soul snatched the mug from her side and his own from atop a stack of books to fill them in the water basin. The spell to redirect one of the underground streams into the basin had been a pain and he'd flooded his cave twice trying to perfect it, but the water was cool and unpolluted. It had been worth the trouble in the end.

He held a mug in each palm and Maka watched him walk back to the hearth while she soaked her last piece of bread in the broth. It had soothed her throat some and she felt better but she was still perplexed by the dragon. Her eyes widened as steam began to curl from the water in the mugs, just how had he done that?

"How? Little one, how do you keep forgetting that I'm a dragon?" Maka hadn't realized that she'd asked the question aloud. She settled on glaring at him while he smirked and made what appeared to be tea. "It's fairly simple magic to heat the water." He walked back to the nest but instead of just handing one of the steaming mugs to her, Soul decided to lounge on some of the pillows at the edge of the nest. "Let it steep for a while, otherwise it won't taste right." He cursed, wishing he'd remembered to find some honey.

She tugged at the small silk bag that the tea was kept in and studied him. "I didn't realize dragons had a sweet tooth."

"It's better with honey." He grumbled after taking a sip. Maka hid her smile by taking her own small sip of the tea.

"My mum used to use this same blend." She blurted out before she could stop herself, "It was always one of my favorites." Maka grew bashful under his heavy scrutiny but mumbled out, "Her mum made it for her too. Said that it was a specialty from the Burned City, well before it burned."

Soul stood abruptly and stalked away to the hearth where he threw the tea he had left in his mug into the fire. It was too bitter without honey anyway.

"That chest has silks in it, find something new to wear." His voice was gruff and Maka wasn't sure what had made him shift in moods so quickly. She nodded slightly even though his back was to her and finished the tea slowly. Maka had kept herself covered with one of the thinner blankets but it would be a relief to be out of the tattered white dress. When she'd left the nest to explore the stacks of books she'd still felt feverish and unsteady on her feet, but now strengthened with food and tea Maka felt better.

He'd busied himself with contemplating throwing the tea into the fire or leaving it; Soul was rather dismayed at just how hard it was for him to throw it away. His predicament was interrupted by a pained gasp and a sharp hiss. "Just what have you managed to do now?" He groaned but stopped when there was a soft hiccup of pain from her.

"Stay over there! I don't need your help, Dragon!" Maka almost wished that he'd just eaten her in the first place and saved her the embarrassment of her current situation. In trying to get her dress over her head, she had not only twisted her shoulder the wrong way but the bandage had become tangled or snagged, she wasn't sure which, on the dress and was pulling on the tender skin. "I'm fine. I don't need help." She tried to keep her voice steady through the jolts of pain and figure out how to get out of the dress.

She felt him before she heard him, the solid heat that the dragon seemed to radiate warmed her back and he steadied her with his hands on her waist when Maka jumped. "I don't understand how something so small can cause me so much trouble." It was somewhere between a growl and an exasperated sigh, Maka could practically feel him roll his eyes at her when he turned her to face him.

"Someone. I am not a something." She bit her lip when he started to untangle the dress from the bandage, "And you could always let me go, I wouldn't cause you trouble then." He scoffed and removed the dress from her head as gently as he could leaving Maka to cover her chest with her good arm and shift uncomfortably in her small cloth.

"You know I'm not letting you go. Don't really know why though, you're more of a toothpick than you are a maiden." He smirked and eyed her small chest. She sputtered indignantly,mortified and humiliated by his leer. Soul was too busy watching the flush of rage color the tops of her shoulders to see her elbow coming. She managed a quick jab and then switched arms so she had full use of her good arm to try and beat the grin right of his smug face.

"Vile, crude, terrible lizard! How dare you!" Maka spat while the dragon started to dance out of her reach.

"You're beginning to repeat yourself pet! Going to have to think up new insults!"

"Oh just give me time." She snarled but doubled over coughing violently. She sank down the rugs, tears streaming down her face as deep, lung rattling coughs shook her small frame. Soul caught her before she made it all the way to the floor and wrapped his cloak around her.

The dragon murmured gently in her ear while she continued to cough, "Little one, breathe, you're alright." Maka tried to glare at him through her watering eyes but he didn't let her go until she was done coughing. "Better?" He asked without any trace of of a smirk.

Maka managed to rasp, "I hate you," before he was settling her down to go get her more water. She knew how to deal with his smugness and even his threats but his concern had her on edge. Once again a mug full of fresh water was gently pushed into her hands. The cloak was rough on her skin but it covered her easily while he through rummaged to find something for her to wear. Maka had just finished the water when he started to throw things at her.

"What? Would you! Quit it, Dragon!" She squeaked when something gray hit her squarely in the head and covered her eyes. There was a rumble of laughter when she pulled the silky fabric off her face and Maka scowled.

His eyes were soft when he approached her and took the cloth from her hands. He shook it out and Maka finally noted that it was an incredibly large silk shirt, "That isn't decent."

"You're short enough it will be fine." The dragon shot back and started to laugh again when she looked for something to throw at him. "Here," He was holding the shirt out so she could easily slip into it, "Do not fight me on this, little one."

"Close your eyes." Maka kept her voice stern and she didn't look away as he snorted, narrowed his eyes and eventually closed them. "If you peek,"

"What will you do, little one? Throw more of my own books at me?" His voice was still playful and Maka debated if smacking him over the head while his eyes were closed would unfair. Instead she huffed and tried to arrange the shirt over herself without bothering her shoulder. "Are you done? Can I help you yet?"

"I don't need your," Maka yelped when something tweaked the wrong way, "help." She finished lamely. "I'm covered."

The shirt was enormous on her and the collar was so wide it hung to the side and off her unbandaged shoulder, she hadn't managed to get her arm through the other sleeve though. Soul didn't say anything when he took her hand and the shirt and began to adjust the fabric so she could put her arm through. He nodded when he was done, but she didn't pull her hand from his immediately. She was studying the way his fingers had curled over hers and the contrast between their skin, Soul held his breath when her thumb ghosted across the heel of his hand as he waited to see what she would do. He could feel the magic sparking along his skin and Soul wondered if she could feel it too.

Another strand of magic caught his attention and back went rigid. The same strand had also warned him while he'd been out flying that someone was approaching his cave, and he'd found his little sacrifice brandishing a sword. The wards in place around the entrance were warning that someone else had found his home and was looking to enter. Maka had frozen as well, worried that she had overstepped and that the dragon really was about to eat her. She was quite surprised when instead he scooped her and deposited her back in his nest.

"Stay there, little one." His movement were hurried and he was halfway shifted before charging out of the cave. Maka blinked before a roar shook her very bones.


	7. Hero

It wasn't hard to find the dragon's lair. Excalibur pulled and rattled in its sheath, craving blood. It had been many months since the last dragon fell to Hiro and Excalibur, if what Sir Albarn said was true, then this dragon would be one of the most fearsome he'd faced. The prospect made him grin, larger dragons were usually foolish and slow but they sounded more impressive in the ballads sung.

Snow still hid in the shadows of the jagged rocks along the mountain pass and the air held the sharp chill of winter despite the oncoming spring. It was a desolate place, gray and empty the higher up he went, his armor clinked with each step and kept most of the chill at bay. Excalibur gave a particularly strong tug forward and Hiro lay his hand over the hilt to keep it sheathed, he'd been lucky to find such a powerful magic weapon even if it was demanding. The sword's thirst for power would soon be sated, as would Hiro's desire for another pretty conquest.

Hiro had only met the girl briefly a year or two before, she'd been appealing, if a little bookish and impudent for a maiden. Perhaps the years had been kind to her; if she had filled out any he would greatly enjoy ravishing her after he saved her. Bedding the damsel in distress was his favorite part while the act of killing the beast was Excalibur's, they made a good team.

His sword began to vibrate, at first slowly and then increasingly until Hiro had to pull his hand away lest it become numb. A great outcropping of rocks was before them and a cliff overhanging the mountain behind, Hiro stood in the center of the clearing, mapping the terrain and eyeing any high point that he would be able to use to his advantage. The easiest way to kill a dragon was to hop on their back and slide Excalibur just under the wing joint, the scales there were thin and flexible and an artery ran close to the skin. The dragon would bleed out in moments with little effort or danger on Hiro's part. He had taken to cutting the head off for show, to make it look more impressive.

The ground rattled and the dragon came thundering through the cave's mouth, roaring. Hiro gasped and stepped back, not only was the dragon much larger than any other he had faced, it was fast as well. White scales shone brightly in the late afternoon sun and the dragon's red eyes immediately met his own. Excalibur surged forward as Hiro withdrew it and grinned at the dragon, slaying this beast would make him a legend among legends.

Soul shook with barely contained fury, this knight was too close to his home, his hoard, and now his pet. His magic reared to life, thrumming in his veins and along his scales ready to fight. The knight was small, hardly even the size of his head; though the sword he wielded could be dangerous, it crackled with its own magic that surrounded the knight as well.

"Ha! Be wary, foul beast! Excalibur and I shall have your head and rescue the fair maiden you have so cruelly stolen away!" The knight lunged, he was faster than he should have been, the magic from the sword was most likely the cause. "I shall enjoy her more than a beast like you ever could!" Soul swiped at him but again the knight was quicker than he should have been and slashed at Soul's forearm. Sparks flew as the sword met his scales and the two different magics fought; Soul bellowed when the sword sank into his scales instead of glancing off.

It was short but deep, he wouldn't be able to support much weight on the leg now. He snarled when the knight laughed and danced out of range of his claws. "I just hope you have not defiled her, for then she would be worthless to me!" That sword was the real enemy, not the knight at all, but he still made Soul want to rip his soul to shreds.

"Soul!" The shout startled the dragon and the knight as Maka ran out of the cave and put herself between them. The oversized grey shirt fluttered in the cold wind, exposing more of her legs than was decent and Soul noted with great displeasure that she was barefoot. He rumbled and wanted to glare at her but he didn't dare take his eyes off the knight who was watching Maka with far too much interest.

"Fair maiden! Come this way, I will protect you with my legendary sword Excalibur!" The knight's promise had Soul snarling again.

Maka yelled over her shoulder, "Go away!" and turned her attention back to Soul. He had bent his head down to wuff warm breath against her toes and she placed a small hand against his nose feeling the hard texture of his scales.

"But damsel! It is I, Hiro! Once I kill this dragon we are to be wed! Come hide behind me so I may slay the creature!" The knight stepped forward brandishing Excalibur and Soul curled himself around Maka, nudging her closer with his head. He hissed at the knight.

She was almost completely hidden from view; Soul had even prodded her onto his open paw so she wasn't standing on the cold ground, he kept his sharp claws as far from her as he could. "I don't need to be saved Hiro! Leave now!" Maka called. Soul's rumbling changed to snarling each time the knight clanked nearer. "No, Soul stop, please. Please don't kill him?"

The dragon hadn't taken his unnerving red eyes off Hiro. "Are you choosing the dragon over being saved?" Even just the idea seemed absurd, the dragon's eyes narrowed.

Maka tried to see where the knight was but Soul was too large and bent around her, "No! I'm not choosing him! I'm just trying to save your life! Now go!" A cough shook her and Soul moved even closer. He was warm but she was not dressed to be outside, even if she wasn't choosing him, he thought viciously. The urge to just kill the knight was becoming hard to resist. Hiro seemed perplexed but he had stopped advancing on the crouched dragon and Excalibur was loose in his hand has he tried to process that Maka didn't want to be saved. "Hiro, go now!"

Soul snapped his teeth at Hiro once before lowering his head again to nudge Maka onto his snout. With a flick of his tail, Soul turned and limped back to the cave entrance where he set Maka down and pushed her forward with a rumble. "Don't kill him? Please, Soul?" He pushed her forward again and turned just enough to face Hiro who still hadn't sheathed his sword. Soul roared until the idiotic knight ran in the other direction. Maka was his little one, and his alone. Even if she was foolish enough to run between a dragon and a knight barefoot. He blinked slowly, reinforcing the wards around his home and hiding the entrance before limping after the girl who had said she wasn't choosing him.

She wasn't too far away, Maka was leaning against a wall, breathing heavily, a bout of coughing had caught her off guard. Soul just rolled his eyes at her and nudged her back onto his snout, normally he would have carried her in a paw or at least put her on his back, but his leg was still bleeding despite his magic wrapping around the wound.

It was strange being on the dragon's nose as she was, but he supported her easily and went cross eyed every time he looked at her. "You didn't kill him did you? He was just an idiot." Soul very carefully shook his head and Maka ran a hand over his brow bone in thanks. His scales were warm, but she had caught a chill and couldn't seem to stop shivering no matter how hard she tried. It startled her that she was hoping the dragon would drop her in his nest and possibly that he would join her as well.

Maka shook her head and waited to be deposited in the nest but Soul kept walking towards the back of the cave. He grunted and part of the back wall dispelled in shimmer of strange red lights that fell and faded into the cave floor, a tunnel lit by torches that ignited themselves as they lumbered past sloped down and curved until they were in another cavern. It was smaller and darker than what seemed to be the main area and the air was thick with steam, Maka noticed. Soul let her slide down and stepped back to shift down. His mists and the steam made it hard to see her hand in front of her own face, but she could hear the dragon groan.

"Dragon? Are you well? You were limping." Maka kept her voice soft but it still echoed around them.

"Oh, so we are back to 'Dragon' again, are we?" He was right in front of her and scowling. "Only going to call me by my name when you're trying to save your fiancé's life?" She sputtered but was too shocked to even swat his hands away when he started to tug at the buttons on her shirt. "Not that you're leaving. Ever." Maka finally did push him away to cover herself and glare at him.

Annoyed with her lack of reaction and annoyed with the world, Soul ignored the throbbing pain in his arm, picked her up and walked forward. Now she started to sputter about indecency, touchy feely dragons, names and Hiro, he growled and lowered her into the pool of water she hadn't noticed. It was deep enough to cover her chest in this part, but shallow enough that the bandage on her shoulder wouldn't get wet. The slight currents in the pool that kept the water clean and warm played with the loose grey shirt and the tips of her hair that touched the water.

"You were so determined to protect him, you must truly care a lot." He sneered and she moved out of his reach. Soul undid the clasp that held his heavy cloak on and shucked off his own shirt to inspect the cut on his arm. It always hurt when his magic reformed the wound to his form, sometimes more than the wound itself. It was still quite deep and blood ran freely from it to Soul's displeasure. His magic was knitting back together the worst of the damage, but it would take time to heal.

"I would never marry a man like Hiro." It was barely a whisper but he heard it, he glanced at her. The girl was very careful to not look at him and it was hard to tell if the flush on her face was from the hot water or her embarrassment. "Not that it matters. I'm not leaving." There was no real venom behind her words, she was too tired and the pool had sapped the little energy she had left. It felt nice to just float in the warm water.

Soul blinked at her and watched as she swayed on tip toes in the water. "Good." She looked at him curiously; he shifted moods more quickly than anyone she had ever met. His hands were undoing his belt buckle and Maka immediately turned away.

"Dragon! Just- just what exactly are you doing?" Maka's indignant squeak made him chuckle.

"Well, we are in the bathing pool, and unlike you I prefer to enter the water without my clothing." Soul teased. The rustle of cloth being dropped to the floor made her squeak again and tightly cover herself with the wet silk shirt she still wore. "Now do you wish for a knight to save you, damsel?" He mocked while stepping into the water.

Maka kept her back to him and her eyes closed but choked out, "Don't call me that! And don't come near me, Dragon!"

"Do you prefer being called "little one" then?" He asked genuinely curious as he settled himself on a low bench. Steam rolled off the surface of the water and it gently lapped at the edges of the pool.

She was quiet for a moment, "Yes." It surprised him and he grinned lazily.

"There are soaps over here, little one." He murmured, the warmth of the water and the fight making him drowsy.

"That would be indecent."

"I am too tired to even tease you properly. Do you really think I would try something?" He shot back. Maka glanced at him over her shoulder, the bandages had gotten wet and would need to be changed later but it didn't ache as much as she was expecting. The dragon looked half asleep with his arms on the edge of the pool, submerged half way. A scar bisected his chest running from one shoulder down into the water to- Maka felt her face heat at just the thought and averted her eyes.

"No, but it is still indecent." It both surprised her and didn't that she truly believed that he wouldn't try anything. Even if it had ended in a shouting match and with her pinned to the cave wall, Maka blushed at the thought of his tongue on her skin, he had not even cuddled her against her will.

"Your loss, I think I have some of those new liquid soaps. For some reason they smell like flowers." He kept his eyes closed as she tentatively approached.

"Do not open your eyes, Dragon." The shirt was wrapped around her but it was translucent and hid nothing.

"Call me Soul again and I promise that I will not open my eyes." He grinned in her direction and yelped when she swatted his hand. She was closer than he had expected.

"Do not open your eyes, Soul." There was a touch of humor to her voice that Soul found he rather liked.

"Fair enough, little one."

Soul dozed for the rest of their bath waking only to snort when the smell of flowers became overpowering. Maka was having fun with the soaps and had even decided to wash her hair. She wasn't sure how the soaps worked, there must have been magic involved, she decided eventually but she enjoyed the one that smelled like honeysuckle the most.

She'd been a bit alarmed when the dragon had left his bench to dive under the water but he kept a respectful distance from her and emerged with his back turned. Through the steam and the strange light, his scars stood out against the tan of his skin and Maka wondered about the story behind each of them. She wondered the most about the scar on his chest though; it looked as though it should have been a fatal blow.

"Come little one, if you stay in any longer you will be a fish." Soul laughed when instead of leaving the water she sank up to her nose and pouted at him. "Well, I'm getting out," Maka yelped and spun while Soul continued to laugh at her. "I don't understand the need for modesty, little one."

"It's the principle!" She spluttered.

Soul quickly dried himself off with the thick cottons he kept by the pool before securing one around his waist. "It's skin, you have it as well. Now come dry off."

"No looking?"

"No looking." He sighed but closed his eyes and held out a new cotton cloth for her. It was easier to humor her than to fight, even if fighting was more fun. Soul yawned and felt the cloth being taken from his hand.

"Thank you." Maka hesitated before her resolve steeled when she saw the angry red cut on his arm, "Soul." She dried off quickly and wrapped herself in the warm cloth. "I'm decent."

"You're welcome, little one."

She sat by the fire with her hair down to dry while he looked at her shoulder. He'd thrown another shirt at her, this one a deep purple and simply pulled on a pair of pants himself leaving his torso bare. Soul brushed her off each time she tried to get him to tend to his own arm, what had been a nasty looking cut an hour ago was now pink at the edges with new skin. Even her shoulder was practically healed. "It's my magic, little one. It's been healing you." He was gentle as he rotated her shoulder, "Part of why I'm so tired," he said while fighting back another yawn. "Been using a lot of magic lately."

"Why heal me though?" Maka asked. Soul seemed satisfied and let her arm go.

"You think I made the choice?" He laughed to himself and shook his head, "The magic does what it wants most of the time. It wanted to heal you and so, it did." The fire crackled behind them and Soul blinked tiredly.

Maka stood, took his hands in hers and tried to pull him up, "Go rest." He looked at her quizzically and didn't budge. "Dragon," she tugged again, "Go rest." He smirked.

"Call me So—"

"Soul! Go rest, you're falling asleep sitting there." Her mouth was drawn into a line and she tugged on his arms again. It amused him that she was careful not to tug too hard on his injured arm. Soul finally let her tug him to his feet, causing Maka to stagger backwards and pout at him.

He grinned at her, "You're very demanding, little one."

"And you're very tired. Sleep." He shrugged but stumbled to his nest while Maka curled into her own furs. "Good night, Soul."


	8. Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANIME BOSTONNNNNNN and Chapter 8. Love me.
> 
> Did two of you come up and high five me while I was in line? Was that a thing? Who did the thing? Cause I've been trying to figure it out. But yes.
> 
> Enjoy chapter 8 shenanigans.

She was perched on a pillow by the hearth, drinking tea, with one of his more recent books in her lap. It had been almost a week since the incident with Hiro and while it had taken time for both of them to settle they were becoming amiable. Soul still teased her mercilessly, but Maka was less afraid of him and simply put up with his juvenile ways until she became fed up enough to begin throwing things. Their spats usually ended with an offering of tea, despite the lack of honey.

He was still groggy and she'd giggled at his bedhead. Soul scowled half heartedly on principle but turned away to crack his back and hide a grin. Maka just rolled her eyes at the dragon's back, he looked less like a ferocious dragon and more like a hound that had just been woken up after a good nap. After cracking just about every bone and rolling his shoulders, Soul began to take inventory of his cave.

He, by no means, felt a need to keep his home organized, but he did prefer a clean nest. It was more of an organized chaos. A breeze blew into the cave, fluttering the pages of the book that Maka was reading and carrying the scent of rain and the first of the spring storms. Soul hadn't been planning on going out again so soon but it would be necessary, the spring storms, while not nearly as cold as the winter, were miserable in different ways. The strong winds were fun to fly on sometimes, but the temperature changes could make for sudden, startling drops that still made him uneasy.

The storm would hit in a day or two but he would rather be prepared beforehand. He'd been caught by surprise before and hunger was one thing that he did not tolerate at all. Soul looked back over his shoulder and watched her read for a moment.

"Come, little one, we're going out."

It was perfectly acceptable to begin drinking before noon, but even the barkeep had looked at the knight oddly when he ordered spiced wine at nine in the morning. Most patrons were ordering breakfast and brewed hot drinks, but this knight was remaining steadily drunk and kept bemoaning the same story of a damsel that did not wish to be rescued from a dragon to anyone within earshot.

"She said she wasn't picking it! Said that she was just trying to save my life! As if I, the great Hiro, need saving by a woman!" He shook his raised fist and the barkeep rolled his eyes. "But have you ever heard such a woeful tale? A foolish maiden staying to be devoured by a dragon? How could she ever bear to look at those heinous red eyes? Or those disgustingly colorless scales?" Hiro appeared to be on the verge of tears but the barkeep was more concerned with the man who had just choked on his drink in the back corner. The woman with strange circular tattoos on either side of her mouth he was with started to thump him on the back, but was looking at the knight with interest. "Perhaps she had been driven mad already by that foul creature, in which case I am quite glad I should not have to bed a woman quite out of her mind. That would be no fun at all." He lay his head on the dirty bar with a sigh after draining his wine.

"Tell me more about this dragon, knight." The barkeeper scurried off when the man who had been sitting in the corner joined the drunk knight. He made for an imposing figure and his eyes did not match as they should have, the barkeep avoided looking too closely. There were some things that were better left unknown if the "no future" tattooed over the strange eye was any indication. "Was it really colorless with red eyes?"

"Just so! Pale as a cold death and eyes of blood." Hiro's true poetic side had a tendency to make itself known when drunk.

"And just where can this dragon be found?" Free asked while nodding to the little witch with whom he kept company. Their Mistress would be most pleased to know that they had finally located the dragon, Soul Eater.

Flying, Maka found, was terrifyingly wonderful. She was quite envious of Soul and could understand why he seemed to become irritable when grounded for too long. It was cold in the sky and the clouds left her shivering each time they flew through them despite the many layers Soul had wrapped her in, his cloak last of all. It seemed to have been treated with beeswax, for it repelled the water that collected on her shoulders throughout the trip. He'd been oddly gentle with her when he swung it around her shoulders and fastened the penannular brooch just over her heart, even going so far as to fluff the furs closer to her neck.

"Whatever you do, little one, do not let go. And refrain from screaming, it will not end well for either of us."

Soul had shifted, stretched his leg to test how well healed it was and then settled down on his belly to allow her to climb up.

She was sitting at the base of his neck in the indent between his shoulder blades just above his wings. There were several spines for her to hold onto and while she had tried to reassure herself that it would be similar to riding a horse. It was nothing like riding a horse at all. Soul walked slowly out of the cave, allowing her to adjust and become used to his gait, he rumbled in what Maka assumed to be a chuckle when she squeaked and gripped at him. She was a passive passenger whereas if she were at the base of his skull she would have been able to lean over and smack him for laughing.

When they had approached the overhang she had called his name, worried. His response was to crouch down and leap off the side of the mountain. Maka ignored his request not to scream but it hardly mattered, the wind tore her voice from her mouth as they plummeted to their deaths. But his wings unfurled, forcing them straight back up into the air where he settled into a gentle rolling, swooping motion that evened out the faster they went.

Soul risked a glance back and rumbled again, his little one had her eyes firmly shut and her knuckles were so white around the spine she was clinging to that they matched his scales. It probably wasn't very nice of him to have done that to her, but she was still on his back and Soul felt something a little similar to pride that she had managed to hold on.

Maka wanted to glare at him, but that would mean opening her eyes and the prospect of seeing how high they were terrified her. She wondered briefly if she would be able to see her town, and that was enough to get her to peek. All she could see was white though, a thick misty white all around them that moved with each beat of Soul's wings. "We're in a cloud. I'm in a cloud!" Fear forgotten momentarily, Maka beamed. They burst from the cloud and Maka realized that she wasn't afraid.

The sky was dotted with clouds and Soul seemed to like to play in them, sometimes diving head first into them or skimming his wings along the edges to disrupt them. Maka giggled when he rumbled and watched the forest below them speed by. The wind brought tears to her eyes and her cheeks felt raw from the cold wind but Maka found herself hoping that this wouldn't be the only time Soul would take her flying.

It couldn't have been more than twenty minutes before Soul began to slowly descend into a clearing in the woods, Maka could see the smoke from a nearby town not far in the distance. Landing was a smooth affair but her knees felt weak when she slid down off of Soul's back. He shifted down and grinned at her before stealing back his cloak. The sun hadn't burned away the mists that wound through the trees and the air still held a chill to it.

"Thank you, Soul. That was incredible." Her sincerity and smile surprised him, in return he offered her his arm as they walked through the woods and towards the town Maka had noticed from the air.

As they walked Soul lay down his rules to which Maka rolled her eyes and promised that yes, she would behave and no, she wouldn't reveal his other nature. Her cheeky grin earned her a halfhearted growl.

Maka glanced at him and trusted that he would keep her from falling over a branch or root, "But what of your hair and eyes? Even your ears are slightly pointed."

"This town is accustomed to me, they know better than to ask questions and I have never been bothered about my appearance." He pulled her closer to avoid a large rock in her path that would have tripped her.

It wasn't a long walk and the tall leather boots he'd found protected her from the wet underbrush and the long coat that came to her knees kept her warm. Soul didn't seem to care much for the low hanging branches that dripped water onto his head but he refrained from swatting at them. They emerged onto a well worn path and continued towards town.

"There must be some mistake, this town is over half a days walk from my village, how could we possibly be here?" Maka was stunned, to have traveled such a long distance in such a short amount of time! Her father had taken her here on her fifteenth birthday to buy her books that she hadn't been able to find in their own town. Even on horseback they had traveled for half a day and had stayed the night at an inn to rest the horses so they could travel back the next day.

"Flight is quite fast, little one; I have the luxury of not worrying about things like roads." He smirked at her. "As the crow flies, I can easily reach the boarders and even the sea."

"I am envious, I have never seen the sea nor crossed the boarders. I've read everything I could and I had hoped to see it all someday, but then there was a certain change of plans." Maka returned his smirk and nudged his ribs.

"That, little one, was your own fault." He chuckled but continued, "Perhaps someday, if you are very good, I will take you to see the ocean. I believe you will enjoy it."

"That would require that you not eat me."

"Like I said, if you are very good, but considering your tendency to hit me with books." Soul gave her a toothy grin. Maka scowled at him.

They heard the main street before they saw it, merchants yelling their prices, people haggling and arguing and laughing. It was bustling and overwhelming after being cooped up in the quiet of the cave. Maka moved just a bit closer to Soul as they entered the fray. As with flying, as soon as Maka acclimated she was dragging Soul from stall to stall to look at knickknacks, food, and everything in-between. He found her enthusiasm amusing and almost contagious each time she found a new shiny bobble to look at or play with.

He was polite to a fault and though she kept being distracted, Maka noticed that he moved differently. She'd seen the same tilt of the chin somewhere else, but she couldn't place it. When he got into an argument over the price of meat, Maka worried that he would snarl or give himself away, but the worst he did was roll his eyes, thank the seller despite the disagreement and move onto the next stall that had what he wanted.

"You seem very well socialized." She commented lightly, her hand still resting in the crook of his elbow.

Soul glanced down at her, "I wasn't raised in a cave little one." Was all he said and she didn't press for more.

They found lunch outside and Soul even indulged her craving for something sweet, much to Maka's surprise. He had laughed at her before stealing a bite of the custard himself. He had groaned when she found the book seller but had browsed the shelves as well. Soul watched to see if his magic gravitated towards any books in particular or if any were masked to a non-magical eye. Nothing of consequence beyond a obnoxious frog cookbook that reeked of witch caught his attention though. He turned his attention back to Maka who was too busy trying to carry every book she could touch to notice how he smiled gently at her.

He raised an eyebrow at her sheepish expression and held up two fingers indicating that she could have two of the books in the stack that she was holding. Even though he knew that at some point the books would most likely be thrown at him, it was worth it to see her smile at him. He paid for the books and handed the wrapped parcel to her with a grimace. "I am aware that it is futile, but I feel the need to say that it will not be polite to hit me with books I bought for you."

"Well perhaps if you are very good, I won't have to!" She smirked and demurely walked out of the shop leaving him to shake his head.

When he was satisfied with their purchases, he had even remembered honey for the tea, they began to walk back to the clearing in the woods. Maka had enjoyed herself but being around so many people was exhausting. She cradled the books to her chest and had even insisted that she carry one of the packages of food. Once back at the clearing, Soul gave back the cloak and shifted back into a dragon. He easily held everything, even her books, which made him roll his eyes, in one claw and waited for her to settle herself on his back.

The flight back was more relaxed, Maka watched the sunset and the colors play off the clouds they flew between. They landed back at the cave before dark and again Soul waited to shift down until Maka was safely off his back. When the mists dissipated Maka approached to help carry their things back into the cave. Soul watched her for a moment, the warm sunset light playing on her hair and he noticed that it shone gold. He blinked and turned his attention back to the packages.

"Soul?" He grunted but didn't look at her, "Thank you." Soul finally turned to face her, just as she was standing on her toes to kiss his cheek, when instead she caught the corner of his mouth. They stood for a heartbeat before Maka blushed furiously and quickly stepped back a hand covering her mouth in shock. Neither saying anything, but even the tips of Soul's ears felt hot and he imagined his face wasn't much better than hers. She turned quickly and went into the cave, books and another box clutched tightly to her chest.

He stood blinking for a few moments until his face didn't feel quite so red and gathered up the remaining packages and followed her into the cave.


	9. Velvet

As Soul predicted, the spring storm hit two days after their flight. Even from within the warm cave they could hear it against the mountain. Maka moved her nest closer to the entrance so she could read in comfort while listening to the rain; Soul had rolled his eyes at her strange affection for the noise.

It was fine for the first two days, but on the third he grew tired of lounging in the cave. Maka no longer rose to his insults and to his dismay had mastered ignoring him and he found it hard to sleep when he was so riled up from doing absolutely nothing. He'd disappeared for a while into the lower levels of his cave to inspect his hoard, but it didn't amuse him like it used to. He found himself thinking more about the small woman with hair that shone gold in the sun than the bright but cold jewels and riches he had collected over the years.

In a last ditch effort to distract himself from his little one and the overwhelming boredom that loomed, Soul entered one of the smaller nooks off of his great hoard. There were strong wards that lined the walls and sealed the room off, nothing could enter without wearing several runes and nothing could see into the room through any reflective surface. The other spells he'd cast made sure that nothing got out either. There were several books that still called for their less than savory owners or authors, begging to have their dark spells used and contracts made.

He'd made it a personal mission to try and collect books of dark and black magic, not to learn from them, but to keep others from using them. Soul hadn't been able to find any recently, but his collection was vast beyond that of most witches or wizards. His instincts demanded that he gather gold and jewels and other things of worth and while it didn't always feel natural to hoard books or hold them at such importance, his magic didn't protest. As he had learned to control his magic he had been able to train it to look for books with dark auras.

The last book he had found had been in the Southern most part of his territory and had been owned by a murderer. His soul had been so warped and tainted with the magic from the book, Soul had barely been able to choke down his soul. It was the first volume in a set of three and it was not the one he wanted, though he was pleased to have found it and able to seal it away from the world in his vault. Soul was after the final volume but hadn't been able to find it.

He scoffed at the books; if their spells didn't protect them he would have burned them all to ashes. "Wastes of space." He muttered before turning back to the piles of gold that lay in his great hoard. The thought crossed his mind to bring something sparkly back up to his little one to amuse her with, but he wasn't sure she would even look up from the book she was reading and he didn't want her to reject or ignore anything he showed to her. It would be a blow to his pride in his hoard, and while she was only supposed to be his pet, he did care what she thought, to his absolute horror.

Though she seemed very impressed and content with the collection of books he had in the main cave and that did please him, even if it meant that she ignored him. Soul wandered back to the main cave to try his luck at teasing his little one into paying attention to him. In the past he'd just napped through the spring rains but now he had someone else to entertain him.

"Little one," he drawled, he was a dragon and dragons absolutely did not whine, Maka though would argue that dragons did indeed whine and were downright needy when it came to attention. But she humored him and glanced at him from over the top of her book, he'd left her alone for most of the afternoon, disappearing down into the lower levels. His hair wasn't wet and he smelled of metals and dust so she assumed that he hadn't been to the warm pool but off doing whatever dragons did.

He was rolling his shoulders it seemed unconsciously and didn't quite know what to do with himself. It had been several days since their flight and Maka took pity on him. "Lie face down in your nest." She said as she marked her page and put the book down.

"Why, so you can stab me in the back and run away?" He was smirking but did slump down into his nest as she asked. "Or worse yet, hit me with another book?"

Soul watched her approach him, her bare feet quiet on the carpets. She had come to greatly enjoy the freedom of movement that the oversized shirts she wore as dresses provided. He greatly enjoyed how much leg they happened to show.

"Don't tempt me, Soul." Her tone was light and he heard more than saw her smile. "And I changed my mind; sit up and cross your legs." He groaned and made a great deal of repositioning himself but was curious as to why she was sitting behind him.

"You aren't seriously going to stab me in the back, right?"

"Soul, if I were going to stab you, I would have done so while you were snoring last night."

"I do not snore!" He looked at her horrified and then scowled when he saw how hard she was trying to keep from giggling. "You are cruel, little one."

"Says the dragon." Maka sang as she gently placed her hands on his shoulders. Soul tensed for a moment before her thumbs began to rub circles through his shirt. She slowly worked her way to the base of his neck, nimble fingers finding each knot and gently but surely working it out. Soul slumped forward more and more as he relaxed, Maka made little humming noises whenever she found a particularly large knot in his back but she never got impatient or pushed too hard. Soul grunted when she undid something between his shoulder blades that had apparently been bothering him without him ever knowing what and finally fell sideways.

Maka laughed at him but he was too at ease to even care and allowed her to reposition him so he was flat in his nest as he had been before. She kept working down his back using her knuckles on the more stubborn areas and then soothing them with her fingertips. Soul sighed and wondered briefly if she would be able to do this for his wings when he was a dragon.

"Little one," his voice was partially muffled by the velvet pillow he was using but she hummed that he had her attention while she continued to work. "Do you still think me a vile monster?" Her fingers stopped moving on his lower spine and she wondered where such a question had come from.

"I have not called you such in a long time, why do you ask?"

Her fingers resumed their quest to completely melt his back and possibly his mind. "I realize that from your stand point, especially in the villages, I must be detested for what I am." Maka was unsure what to say, so she said nothing. "I could eat any soul that I wish, the best people the same as the vile. But then I really would be a monster."

"You explained that you only eat the souls of the wicked. You don't need to say more." Maka tried reason with him, unsure of what he was really trying to say.

"But even so you still thought me vicious." Soul cracked one eye open to look at her.

"Since when you do care what I think?" She asked meeting his gaze.

He blinked and closed his eye, "I'm not sure."

Maka found another knot to work out. "You chose to eat the souls of those who are terrible people, you play a god."

"No." His answer was immediate, "I am not and I do not play a god, little one. The souls that I eat are different; there are times when they are barely even human. I am," he faltered for a moment but Maka couldn't tell if it was because of the knot she was working out of his back or because of what he was trying to say. "I am a dragon, I can see the difference between the healthy soul of a good person and the twisted and sick nature of someone who has done things that are unforgivable."

"Like a cat seeing the weaker mouse."

"Did you just compare me to a cat?" He would have opened his eyes but she had found a rather difficult knot to work out and it was borderline painful.

"I have said much worse things about you and you are insulted now because I compared you to a cat?" She pressed a little too hard and Soul cringed. "Sorry." Maka offered sheepishly. "For being what you are, no; you are not a monster. But you are a monster in that you are a dragon." Soul's heart almost stopped while she spoke. "We're afraid of you in the same way that a mouse is afraid of a cat."

"I'm not a cat." He murmured.

"No, of course not," she rolled her knuckles on either side of his spine and he groaned happily, "you're much more of a kitten." Maka giggled when he tried to bury his head more in the pillow. "I don't think you're a monster though, since you seem to care what I think."

She said lightly and then became flustered with the entirety of the situation. "Despite the fact that you haven't called me by my name and therefore may still be thinking about eating me!" Maka huffed when he chuckled.

"I thought you liked being called little one."

"In preference to being called damsel, oh stop growling you're making yourself tense again and undoing all the work I just did!" She dug her thumbs in to try and preemptively prevent anymore knots forming at the mention of the stupid knight.

"It isn't an insult if that matters, you are just little in comparison to me," he paused and turned his head completely to look at her sitting at his side, "Maka." Soul finished with a small grin. Surprise was written clear across her face and she looked downright adorable. Soul collapsed back into the pillow so he wouldn't do anything stupid. They fell into a comfortable silence as Maka continued to work on his back.

"There, I've done what I can, tell me if your back starts to bother you again, here especially." She poked between his shoulder blades and had to stifle her giggling when he grumbled sleepily. "Nap time?" Soul grunted and rearranged the pillows around his head. There was more rustling and a pillow that he'd been using was taken away, making his head fall to the side.

"And what do you think you're doing, little one?" He watched her arrange the large velvet pillow as she wanted and then stole one of his blankets as well. "That was my pillow."

"You have plenty of pillows."

"Yes, but I like that one."

"Well so do I." Maka grinned at him but it was mostly hidden by the overstuffed pillow. "And what does it look like I'm doing?"

Soul blinked, "Taking a nap?" She smiled at him, nodded and then settled farther into the pillow and pulled the blanket up to her nose. "I guess you can use that pillow."

"Thank you, Soul."

"You're welcome, Maka."

\---

She lay curled into a tight ball in her nest, shivering and trying not to chatter too loudly. The temperature had plummeted as it tended to do in the early spring and even though she was buried under all the blankets in her nest, Maka was still freezing. The velvet pillow she had stolen from Soul a week ago retained little heat, though it felt nice on the side of her face. She tried to bury her face in the pillow to rid herself of the small smile that came with thinking about the stupid thing.

Soul had bemoaned its loss, claiming that it was one of his favorites, and had attempted to playfully steal it back on three separate occasions. Each try had ended with Maka swatting him over the head with it while he laughed at how protective she was. She also may have discovered a ticklish spot on him, though he vehemently denied it. They both knew that if he really wanted the pillow back he could demand it or simply take it by force, but he never did. Instead he seemed to use it as an excuse to get close to her and a reason to invade her personal space and touch her.

Maka had noticed as they became more comfortable with each other, especially now that he had said her name, that he was rather touchy-feely for a dragon. It had started with small brushes of his fingers when he handed her a mug of tea with honey, tucking her hair behind her ear, or gently tugging at the sleeve of her shirts to try and get her attention while she was reading. Maka didn't ask if he meant anything behind the gestures, even when he had taken to sprawling out next to her to drink his tea or even nap, partially because she was afraid of his answer and she didn't want to be rude. He really was quite considerate when he wasn't being an annoying lizard.

She shivered violently and made up her mind. He wouldn't mind, she decided, and sleeping through the night without freezing to death would be worth any of his teasing in the morning. Maka picked up her velvet pillow and dashed from her nest to Soul's as quietly as she could. He was buried as well; she could just see tufts of his white hair sticking out from under the quilts and furs. What she was about to do struck her and she began to doubt. Would he be ok with this? Maybe if she just snuck in and then back out before he woke up? She just needed to warm up and slipping into his nest had seemed like a good idea while she had been shivering alone in hers.

Her toes were numb and her knees were going to start knocking together if she didn't get under a blanket soon, be it his or hers. Maka cursed silently and knelt down to pull back the many layers of Soul's nest so she could slip in and hopefully steal some of the heat that seemed to radiate off of Soul.

She was just about to shimmy down the rest of the way when he turned over to blink tiredly at her. Maka froze, her shirt was up by her hips, her legs just under the blankets and his hand was almost brushing her calf. "What are you doing, little one?"

"I- I was cold." Maka chattered. His eyebrows rose and then he yawned, too tired to care about her reason. Soul tugged at the hem of her shirt as he rolled over and allowed Maka to take his warm spot in his nest. He yawned again, turned his back to her and hoped that he could rest now. He could feel her curling up under the covers and sigh happily while he waited in the cool part of the nest. She shuffled, turned, shuffled again and Soul closed his eyes hoping that sleep would come back to him.

He wasn't so lucky. There were three light pats on his shoulder, soft enough that if he had been asleep he wouldn't have noticed, but since he was awake and annoyed with himself because he was nice enough to give her the warm spot, he grumbled out, "What little one?"

"Soul?"

He glanced over his shoulder at her, she was pathetic and chattering and far too precious for her own good. Soul rolled over again and pulled her against him. She was too cold to deal with the world and he was too tired. Curling around her small frame was simple and she relaxed against him almost immediately, sinking into his warmth and sighing contentedly as her shivering subsided. "Sleep, little one. You'll be warm in a moment." He whispered against her hair before letting sleep claim him as well.


	10. Rumble

"We found the dragon." The castle was in ruin and the old stone walls held the chill of deep winter. The air was damp and cold on their skin, Free stood a half step in front of Eruka as they walked down what once would have been a great hall. It had taken them several days to journey from the pub where they had met the knight to their Mistress' castle, but the miles had melted away beneath their feet as they dared to hope.

"Maybe, maybe this will please her enough to let us go, Free!" His little companion was excited, bouncing at times and smiling for the first time in months. They had been sent to scout for old magic, special herbs, and any information they could gather. Finding the white dragon was a long term assignment, though they were aware that the chances of actually finding it were slim. Right up until the knight opened his mouth.

"Did you now? Just when I'd thought I had no more use of you." She was hidden in the shadows away from the light that filtered through the broken roof. Water dripped onto the stone floor from wooden beams.

Eruka shivered behind him, "He has made a home in the Western mountains, a village sacrificed a girl to him and he has kept her as a pet."

"Then he has grown soft." There was a slight hiss to her words that always made Free's blood run cold. If he and Eruka were not bound by force to serve the witch they would be over across the sea and as far from this terrible place as possible.

"Indeed, Mistress. It would seem so, if it pleases you my Lady-." Free stood still as something moved behind the throne. He couldn't hear Eruka breathing; his own heartbeat sounded too loud in his ears. It appeared as though the entire wall were shifting, a great rippling of what he had assumed to be stone but instead was massive black scales moved farther into the dark. The chill in the air became even more apparent and the smell of death threatened to choke him.

"Leave, while I am still pleased with the information you have brought."

Eruka tugged on Free's hand as he stood frozen; whatever crouched in the shadow of the Lady Medusa Gorgon frightened her more than the lady herself. Its magic was stagnant and viscous, she felt tainted from having been in its presence. She stifled a deranged and panicked giggle that threatened to escape from her throat as Free followed her quickly away from the insanity that leaked from behind their Mistress. They would live to see tomorrow but Eruka feared for the coming future.

* * *

Soul woke up lazy and warm. Maka was still asleep in his arms and they had become hopelessly entangled during the night. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, it felt nice to have her tucked up against him. His little one fit in his arms so well, it was hard to tell where he began and she ended. Soul nosed her hair and pulled her just a little closer as he breathed in her warm and floral scent.

He was about to fall back asleep when he jolted awake; Maka would not appreciate being cuddled in such a manner. He made to remove himself, unwrapping and unwinding from her, it was difficult and he doubted he could completely remove himself without waking her, but it was rather fun to try. Almost free, except for one leg still trapped between hers and the arm she was using as a pillow, Soul tried to pull away, but Maka made a small noise of protest and clutched at his shirt to keep him close.

She blinked at him for a moment, he had woken her up, and then deliberately hid her face against him and shifted until she was as close as they had been. Soul looked at her for a moment, his little one really didn't want him to let her go. Maka tugged on his shirt again and shot him a look that spelled retribution if he didn't lie back down with her, which made Soul chuckle, she was far too cute sometimes. Curled back around her properly and holding her close, Soul let himself close his eyes and truly enjoy her warmth.

His heartbeat was strong under her ear; the steady rhythm had lulled her to sleep last night and it was be easy to lose herself back to sleep after being woken up early by Soul trying to pull away. It was kind of him to make the effort, but she was more than happy to lie in his arms and steal his warmth. It even felt...safe. She smiled, tucked under his chin so he couldn't see. There was a rumble and Maka thought at first that it was thunder from the storm but it wasn't quite. It was almost like the rumbling laugh that Soul had when he was amused as a dragon, but it wasn't quite the same. It grew louder each time Soul exhaled and inhaled and Maka finally realized that it was coming from the dragon himself; she could feel it under the cheek she had pressed to his chest.

Maka went rigid. Had she misjudged? Did lying with her really upset him so much? Had she overstepped? Was he finally going to eat her? Soul seemed to notice her stiffness and tensed underneath her. The noise stopped abruptly. "Little one?"

Maka pulled away and sat upright, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean! I was just really cold, and oh please just don't eat me!" Soul looked utterly baffled and kept looking between her and his chest.

"Little one, I'm not going to eat you."

"But you were growling!" Maka pulled farther away.

Soul looked at his chest again, eyebrows furrowed. Their legs were still tangled together when he spoke quietly, almost to himself while he rubbed his chest, "But that wasn't growling."

"But if you weren't growling, why were you rumbling? I didn't mean to upset you, or, I just thought it'd be ok. You- you're so...I'm sorry."

"You didn't upset me though, I was perfectly happy." Soul reached for her and was pleased that she didn't flinch.

She tilted her head and poked his chest after a moment, "You're happy?"

"Well I was until someone decided to poke me. Stop that, little one." Soul swatted her hand, but he was grinning.

"Oh heavens, you really are a cat!"

"What?"

Maka was downright gleeful, pressing her fingers to her lips to keep from smiling too much, trying not to laugh. "Soul, you were purring! You're a cat!" He gaped at her and then became indignant.

"I do not purr!"

"You were! You were so happy you were purring! I can't believe- wait, but Soul, how could you not know you could purr?" Her mirth vanished. Maka leaned towards the dragon and placed a gentle hand on his arm, "Soul?"

He snapped his jaw shut and seemed to focus on a point past her. "Never been happy enough, I guess." Soul shrugged lightly and finally looked back at her. "What is that look, little one?"

Maka just shook her head and pushed him back down into the nest so she could curl back up against him. "Stupid dragon." She poked and prodded until she was pleased with their new arrangement and then smiled when he hesitantly began to purr again. Now that she knew what it meant, it wasn't unpleasant and it made her inexplicably happy to listen to.

Soul glanced down at his little one and moved ever so slightly to let his lips rest lightly against her temple. He had expected her to be trouble, he just hadn't expected how happy she would make him.

It was soft, but she felt the kiss just as much as she could feel the steady purring in his chest. Maka thought about it for a time and turned to look up at him from where she had her head on his shoulder, his eyes were closed and he looked peaceful. She leaned forward to kiss his jaw in return; his cheek was too far away and to kiss his neck felt too intimate. The purring stuttered for a moment and then returned in force; neither said a word.

His stubbled had felt prickly under her lips, it wasn't unpleasant, just a texture that Maka hadn't felt in a long time. Running a finger against it made him snort and grin down at her while she smirked at him. He nuzzled her face until she was squawking in between her giggles for him to "Stop! Before you rub my face away!" In a last ditch effort, Maka shoved her velvet pillow into Soul's face to try and separate them; her plan was foiled when he instead stole the pillow and rolled them both in the blanket.

They were still in very much the same position, just cocooned together with Soul using the stolen pillow while Maka used him as a pillow. Hardly any light filtered through the quilt and Maka allowed herself to be lulled back to sleep by the sound of Soul purring.

* * *

"Good afternoon, Sir Spirit! What brings you to town on this fine day?" The shopkeeper had always been friendly with Spirit, it was good to know other town officials: they always had the best gossip

"Just business I'm afraid, maybe a little pleasure on the side." He added with a smug grin. Spirit had been swamped with work and the occasional lady helped keep his mind off the recent loss of his daughter. The knight he had hired could have only been unsuccessful, he had never returned for the other half of his pay and there had been reports of the white dragon still floating around. There were fewer attacks, but the dragon lived and so Spirit despaired

"Caught a glimpse of that little daughter of yours a week ago, finally married her off, did ya? Could have done worse, he's a fine lord! Or a prince, which is he? We've never quite figured out his title.

Spirit whipped around to stare dumbfounded at the shopkeeper. "You- you saw my daughter? She's alive and well?!"

"Well, of course, her husband even bought her a few books, saw them carrying them around. Has she not written home?"

"She, ah- no. She hasn't, but does this Lord come to town frequently?" Spirit asked, he wondered if he could at one point catch his daughter and rescue her from whoever this man could be.

The shopkeeper rubbed his stubble, "Well, he's on no schedule, comes once or twice every few months, hard to forget those red eyes. Oi, Spirit you know how old he is? Hard to tell with the white hair. Though your little lady seemed happy enough." He chuckled and clutched at his well worn leather vest, "Though you give that girl a book and she's happy regardless, ain't that right, Spirit?"

Spirit was pale, though hearing that Maka was in good spirits and good health was reassuring. "If you see her again, will you tell her to see her Papa? Swear to give her that message, please! Please you must, tell her that her Papa loves her the most!" The shopkepper was taken aback, but nodded and agreed if only to get the other man to stop blubbering.

It was much later while Spirit lay down to sleep that he realized what was bothering him so much about what he'd heard of the man that had been with his daughter. The description, white hair and red eyes, was familiar from an old horror story that his wife had told him once. Her words came back in force: "And the scariest part is, this truly happened! The man turned into a dragon right before my great-great-grandmother's eyes! His scales were pale as his hair, but his eyes stayed the same: red as the blood he spilled." She had laughed at how Spirit jumped at everything for the rest of the night, and once again he found himself losing sleep because of a story that now seemed less and less like a story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BLANKET. BURRITO.   
> Odat out.


	11. Maps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. So here's chapter eleven, I got a lot of questions about updating, if I was even continuing and whatnot. I write for fun, I do this in my free time and frequently when I should be sleeping. I apologize that I can't always consistently update, or even really give a time frame for when I will. I will see this story through, regardless of how long it takes and I hope you'll be patient with me.

He tried to not dwell on the gentle kiss she had placed to his jaw. But even four days later, he was still wondering what she had meant behind it. And ever since he had purred for her, something that still surprised him, Soul had realized that Maka would go out of her way to try and make him purr. She had taken to settling in her nest when they went to bed, reading whatever books she could by candle light while he slept. But he'd wake up at odd hours to find her curled against him each night and then wake up in the morning to find that they had become hopelessly entangled yet again.

She smiled more, at little things, at the books he left by her nest that he hoped she would like, at his accidental fascination with the way things sparkled, and at him. She read anything she could get her hands on: books about magic, the world, cooking, old tales from other parts of the world, history, philosophy. Sometimes she would comment on something she'd read, but usually her musings fell on the sleeping dragon's ears. He'd grunt if he were awake or roll his eyes, but every now and then, he'd respond.

"Did you know that in the far North there was a war? It was in the summer, but it still snowed on the soldiers."

Soul paused from stirring his tea, "God above, that was cold."

Maka looked at him over the book, her mouth agape. "You were there?!"

"Yes, little one."

She was at his side sprawled across his nest in a heartbeat. "Tell me everything!" Soul quirked an eyebrow at her, but she was hard to resist when she was that cute.

He was good at telling stories and sometimes when he forgot himself, he would gesture wildly, trying to illustrate with his hands what he meant. Maka laughed until she cried while he spoke of some of his adventures; his run in with a porcupine in particular, while a wound to his pride, made her sides hurt with laughter

"No, little one, stop laughing!"

"But Soul! You hurt your pawpaw!" Maka doubled over again and covered her eyes with her arm while she laughed.

"It was right between my toes! It hurt, damn it!" He scowled at her and wondered why he'd just told her such a stupid story. It had been a mistake and he really wasn't even sure how he had gotten on the topic. But his scowl softened; if he was honest with himself, he'd told her because he knew it would make her laugh and Maka was quite lovely when she laughed.

She had always loved books and enjoyed the escape from reality that they offered, but Maka found herself more enthralled with the stories the dragon told than any book she had ever read. No book would ever compare to the firsthand account and how lively Soul became as he detailed exactly what had happened. His small anecdotes and tangents sometimes interested her more than the story she'd originally asked him to tell, all spoken in his rich deep voice.

Maka found his map collection one morning and had dragged them outside into the warm spring sun to read them better. Soul had hundreds of them from all over the world; some were quite old and outdated, while others were newer and had more accurate depictions of the lands. She studied them for hours, tracing boarders and coastlines, imagining the great heights of the mountains and the vast emptiness of the deserts.

The world was so much larger than she had ever imagined; countries she had never even heard of, oceans that few had dared to travel, and it made her wonder if there was even more land yet undiscovered. Maka wondered if Soul had ever flown away to explore, to see more of the world than their little corner, and she wondered if he would one day disappear and she would be free to return to her village. Her chest tightened at the thought of the dragon simply vanishing; she hoped, a small and quivering hope, that he would at least say goodbye before he left.

Lying in the center of the mess of maps while watching the clouds, Maka let herself think about the dragon. She tried to be very careful when she thought of him, tried to keep him at a distance, but lately that was becoming more and more difficult. His kindness startled her as did his attentions. The respect, and the restraint she suspected as well, that he had shown to her repeatedly was greatly appreciated. It had dawned on her while listening to one of his stories that her life could have been much worse.

She was living very comfortably, even if in a cave, allowed to do as she pleased and had access to more books, maps, and knowledge than she would have ever encountered in her village or possibly her entire life. Her captor was much less a captor at this point to her and in danger of becoming a dear friend…if not something even more.

Maka blushed until her entire face felt red. Perhaps allowing her thoughts on Soul free rein was not such a good idea. There was much that she still didn't know about him, and though he masqueraded as a very handsome man, he was a dragon for heaven's sake! In a desperate attempt to distract herself, she scoured the clouds in the sky for shapes and animals until her thoughts about the dragon were safely in the back of her head where they belonged.

The sun was warm on her face in a way that it hadn't been in many months and the spring breeze carried the scent of flowers and rain on it. Maka eventually found it difficult to keep her eyes open and let herself nap in the sunlight, a habit she had no doubt picked up from the ever lazy dragon.

The cave was far too quiet; there wasn't even the rustle of pages being turned or the shuffling of blankets that typically accompanied the little one's naps. It took Soul a while to search the cave, becoming more and more frantic the longer he looked. Maka wasn't curled up in either of their nests, by the hearth, the bath, or even tucked away in the nook she'd found by the entrance. She wasn't behind the mountain of books she'd constructed nor under the silks and cottons that were heaped in the room just off the pool.

Cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck; perhaps she had found her way into his hoard? It was a maze down there and there were many things that could hurt or even kill her. She was obnoxiously independent, and Soul had no doubt that she would explore without even consulting him or thinking to ask him if it was safe. Dread clenched at his heart as he neared the hidden entrance to his hoard; how long had she been missing? How far in had she gotten? Was she even still alive?

Soul looked around the main cave one last time, hoping desperately that Maka would appear and simply laugh at him for missing her in such an obvious place. Instead, he finally noticed that the trunk that he kept all of his maps in was open and very empty. His eyes narrowed and he approached it slowly. Where had the maps gone? And was Maka with them? There were so many maps it wouldn't be possible to spread them out in the cave, perhaps she had taken them elsewhere?

The spring breeze blew into the cave, carrying the scent of old parchment, rain, and flowers. Soul sighed, he was an absolute idiot, she was just outside with the maps, probably enjoying the sunshine. Sure enough, once he walked out of the cave he found her lying on one of the large cushions (from his nest, the thief) surrounded by all the maps. He couldn't help but smile. It was a good nest, but she could use a few pointers. Perhaps he'd help her build a proper nest sometime; that might be fun.

"Little one? Little one, wake up, it's time to come inside." Soul called gently. Maka shifted on the pillow and the sunlight caught her hair. He stood there for a moment completely taken by how truly beautiful she was. It wasn't just her golden hair or her emerald eyes, it was her soul. It had taken him many, many years, but he had learned that it wasn't the form that mattered, but the soul. She should hate him, she had every reason to, but instead she was kind and looked for ways to make him happy, her soul was forgiving in nature and warm in a way he had never encountered. His little one baffled him.

Soul started to collect the maps off the ground, rolling some, attempting to fold others, and using several of the large ones as carrying mats. He'd let her sleep for a little longer. Once the area was clear of maps except for one that she had fallen asleep on, Soul tried to wake her again.

"Little one, time to wake up. Come on now." He kept his voice low and watched as she slowly blinked herself awake and sat up. Some of the ink from the border of a northern country had transferred from the parchment to her cheek, and Soul smiled. He crouched down in front of her, licked his thumb and ran it over the ink on her cheek, lightly smudging it. She watched him with wide green eyes, not afraid, possibly still too sleepy to really care. "Little one? Are you awake?"

She pouted at him, nodded, and leaned into his hand more. It felt nice and he looked so concerned. "Yes, Soul. Quite awake." Maka smiled and pulled away to stretch. He was a very silly dragon indeed, but even in her sleepy haze, she could tell just how much he cared for her. "You should lie down on my pillow and let me nap against you." The sun was still warm even though it had started to sink down in the sky.

"Little one?"

"Here, I'll move over, please?" The pillow was large enough that when she moved to one half, there'd be enough room for most of him on it. Once Maka was pleased that only his feet were hanging off the pillow, she lay down next to him and rested her head on his chest comfortably. "Have you ever cloud watched?" she asked after a while of listening to his steady heartbeat.

"A long time ago. Was it something you did often in your village?"

"Not as often as I would have liked, we were usually afraid that a big bad dragon would come scoop us up out of the field." She giggled when he scoffed.

"I would never hurt a child."

"I know, Soul." Her voice was certain and he appreciated that. "Tell me about being a dragon?"

"Only if you tell me about your life as well, little one."

"But it must be so boring in comparison! You're a dragon; I was just the bookish girl." He could hear the pout in her voice even though he couldn't see it.

Soul hummed for a moment, "Perhaps, but I am interested in that 'bookish girl' and I do believe you complain frequently about how boring I am," he teased.

"Well, all you do is nap! There must be more to being a dragon!" Maka was glad he couldn't see how pink her cheeks were.

"Tell me about your life and then I will tell you about mine."

"Promise, Soul?"

"I promise, little one."

Maka huffed for a moment and crossed her arms over her chest. "I volunteered to be the sacrifice. Partially because I knew no one was going to ask for my hand and while I never really wanted a husband, it was rather humiliating. And seeing all the other girls weep at the thought of being separated from their husbands or lovers when I was completely unattached? It seemed like the right thing to do. My father is a town official as well as the town whore." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing. "He isn't a bad man, but his lecherous ways drove my mother away and I didn't forgive him until I left to come here. He supported my love of books and though he tried to arrange a suitable marriage for me, there just weren't any suitors interested. Not many men want a wife who talks back, or enjoys reading more than sewing, or has such tiny tits." Maka spat the last part, as it had been an insult thrown at her for most of her life.

"Then the men in your village were fools." Soul offered evenly.

Her chuckle was humorless, "Yes, well, that too. I convinced myself when I was very young that I would not want to marry anyway, not after watching what my mother had been through with my father. But it would have been nice to at least have had someone show interest." Maka sighed heavily.

He gently worked his hand under hers and wove their fingers together before squeezing them comfortingly. "As I said, fools."

"Well, your turn, dragon! Tell me what it's like to be free with no expectations! I assume you were hatched from an egg, but how did you learn to take the form of a man? Did your parents teach you? What-"

"Little one! One question at a time, but let me start off by saying I don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"About baby dragons or the magic really." He responded cheekily.

"How is that then?"

"I am not a natural born dragon, little one. This was a curse." Even though his tone was calm, Maka sat bolt upright to look at him. Soul frowned and tugged on her hand until she was lying back down against him. "I was an idiot and deserved it, but," he sighed, "I lost everything, even though I was just trying to help."

"Soul?"

"Isn't actually my name, little one. I took it when I lost my family, my home, and the life I knew. It fit this new life better anyway."

"Who are you?" Her voice was small; she had expected adventures and great stories of being free. Not a story about a curse and loss.

"I am the dragon Soul Eater. I was the second born prince of ӦlümVan before it burned to the ground by the black dragon Ragnarok.

I lived with my parents and my older brother, the Crown Prince Wes. He was the best brother a boy could hope for, mischievous, kind, and he took the blame if one of our tricks went wrong. ӦlümVan was prosperous, as my parents were fair rulers and the kingdom was safe. It had the advantage of bordering the sea and being surrounded by mountains- or at least we had thought it was an advantage until Ragnarok descended.

He cut off the supply roads and demanded a sacrifice, lest he laid waste to our city. He demanded my brother. And we gave him Wes. He'd promised he would not harm anyone else should we do this one thing; that he would leave and not bother us again. But it was a lie. Wes died for nothing because Ragnarok remained and continued to terrorize us for two more years." Soul was practically vibrating with fury. These were old wounds, but he had never spoken about them to anyone.

"He demanded daily sacrifices and intimidated my parents so badly that they gave in to his every demand. Any attack that was organized was burned to a crisp and no knight was idiotic enough to face him alone. Except for me. When I was eighteen, I followed one of the sacrifices to Ragnarok's lair of bones and before he could eat her, I attacked. I believe she escaped, and that is the one console I have; that I saved that one woman's life, because it was not a fair fight at all."

Soul shuddered against her and sat up to rest his arms on his knees. "Ragnarok asked if I had honestly thought I was powerful enough to kill him while he had me pinned under his claws. I said yes. Even though we both knew it was a lie, and so he laughed at me." He rubbed at the jagged scar that bisected his chest, "He said he'd give me a taste of real power and cursed me by drawing his claw down through my armor. He said that he'd take it all away, just when I thought myself safe and powerful, that I should live in fear of the shadows where he hunts.

He left me there, bleeding and changing, the curse and its magic weaving into my soul and bones. He left and burned my home, my family, and my people down to the ground, so that when I awoke, I was a dragon covered in the ashes of everything I had loved."

Soul took a deep breath and watched the sun sink behind the jagged mountains he called home now. "I've spent the last one hundred years teaching myself how to live alone and be a dragon. Ha, learning to fly was an experience, as was wrangling with the magic." He sniggered, "The curse has worn off, my magic is mine as are my scales, and I will always be a dragon. I've done what I can to stay out of Ragnarok's way while gathering as much information about him as I can. Though I do enjoy heckling his master by finding spellbooks she wants and then locking them away. I- little one, why are you crying!?"

Maka was almost sobbing behind him. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The dusky light and her tears made her eyes unbearably green.

"Hush, why are you sorry?" Soul did his best to dab at the corners of her eyes with his sleeve but she instead threw her arms around his neck.

"You've been alone for so long," she cried against him.

He sighed again and encircled her waist, "Shhh, little one, it's nothing for you to cry about though. It's alright." He had never been very good at this, "Please stop crying?"

She sniffled and tried to quell her tears. "What should I call you?" He had said Soul was not his name, he was not a dragon, and she cared too much about him to not have a name to call him by.

"Soul is fine, little one. It's who I am and who I have been for a long time. I've learned to like being Soul. So no more tears, alright? Please?"

Maka pulled back to look at him, "You aren't alone anymore, Soul."

It took him a moment, but he smiled and rested his forehead against hers, "I suppose you're right, Maka."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> big thanks to Foxi for the idea of Soul's back story


	12. Wine

Maka, he found out, was exceptionally affectionate after three glasses of wine.

She had been very open and more prone to hugging him without reason ever since their talk outside on the oversized pillow almost a week ago. He enjoyed having her cuddled up to him at night and the way she would curl into his side while she read her books without a word. But now, with a lapful of a very giggly little one, he couldn't quite figure out what to do. 

She had uncovered the case of the wine next to a small pile of gold while looking for more books to read. Deciding to humor her, Soul found the delicate crystal goblets he had swiped from a fairy banquet, and they'd had wine with dinner. It had surprised her just how dry and flavorful the wine was, neither too sweet nor too strong; Soul had chuckled while she poured herself another glass. He drank more for the taste than anything else; ever since he'd been a dragon, Soul found it impossible to become drunk. (He had managed to become tipsy once, but had later decided that it wasn't worth drinking an entire wine cellar.) 

Towards the end of her second glass, Maka was lying on her stomach in their nest and beginning to ask him rather interesting questions, mostly about being a dragon. It was when she came back after getting her third glass of wine that instead of sitting near him as she had been, she sat herself down on his lap and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Soul was mostly just impressed that she hadn't spilled her wine. 

It was during her fourth glass that Soul realized just how much trouble he was in. He had stood to get her more of the butter cookies she enjoyed when she stood as well and swayed on her feet for a moment, and then locked eyes with him. "Where does your tail go?" Maka tilted her head and blinked innocently. "Because you have a tail. But, not right now?" 

Soul stood still and looked at her quizzically while Maka walked forward, right up until he felt her hand brush his lower back. He managed to not yelp, but couldn't help but jump a little while his little one groped his backside. "Your tail... should be like... right here? But you don't have one." Maka sounded oddly sad about his lack of tail. 

"Little one." His growl wasn't at all malicious; it sounded more like a plea. She giggled, but did not remove her hand.

"Will you pour me another glass, please?"

"Think you have had quite enough, how about those biscuits instead?"

"Both! Both? Please?" 

Soul frowned at her, grimacing when she gave him another squeeze, "Fine, but stop that."

"Thank you, Soul," Maka sang, standing on her tip toes to kiss his nose, and then laughed as he went cross-eyed. He grumbled but grabbed her glass, as well as his own, and stalked off. They were well into the wine and he was going to need to get more of the cookies next time they were out. Soul stole, but brought the rest back wrapped in a napkin and a half glass of wine for Maka and a full glass for himself. She tried to take his, but he quickly placed a cookie in her hand instead. 

In retaliation, Maka tugged him down so she could sit in his lap again with her back to his chest. She munched happily on the cookies he'd brought for a while before tilting her head to look up at him. He watched her watching him as she tried to find the words she wanted. "Sooooul?"

"Yes, little one?" 

"Where do baby dragons come from? Eggs? Do lady dragons lay eggs? For little dragon babies? Or just, babies? Oh! Where did you go, dragon?" 

Soul groaned from where he had flopped over in the nest, leaving her back cold. Maka turned around and giggled again; Soul's hair was all askew and flattened on one side. "I don't know, little one, not a natural born dragon."

"Oh. That is true. Do you want little baby dragons, Soul?" She rearranged herself so she was lying flat on his chest and could watch him make faces as he tried to settle on an answer. Before she could really stop herself, Maka gently traced the side of his face with her fingers. Soul finally sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

"Never gave it much thought. Never expect to have the chance." 

Her fingers just brushed across his bottom lip and Soul resisted licking his lips. "But do you want babies?" She tapped his nose lightly and smiled when his face scrunched up. 

"I had hoped, that perhaps… someday."

Maka propped herself up to look him in the eye, then lost her courage and sank back down onto his chest. "Why haven't you?"

"Not particularly social-"

"No, with me? I thought, wasn't, or isn't that like part of… this?" She managed a peek at the dragon she was lying on and was thankful that he seemed to be blushing as hard as she was. "I mean, with the teeth, and that one time, and you? But you stopped?" Maka wished she could stop the waterfall of words that kept pouring out of her mouth, but she had been quite curious and more than a little worried after the incident against the wall. But he'd been a perfect gentleman ever since, wouldn't touch her unless she initiated the contact or asked. Soul had gone from bright red, to purple, but he was now quite pale. "Are you going to?" 

Soul gaped at her and tried to collect himself enough to answer with something intelligible. Smoke began to curl out of the corners of his mouth, and Maka wondered why she found that so attractive. He was exceptionally handsome, especially with his odd hair and eyes, but watching the smoke dance over his lips was doing something strange to her. She desperately wanted to know if he tasted like smoke or wine. 

"Not! No. No, not unless you wanted. I wouldn't want to force or pressure or hurt or-"

"Oh. Am I not? I'm sorry I'm not." Maka quickly drained her remaining wine before attempting to steal Soul's as well, hoping that the warm and hazy feeling from the wine would over power the sharp sting of disappointment. 

"What are you apologizing for, little one? I should be the one apologizing!" 

She glanced up at him, struggling with her glass.

"No, no, little one, you have had far too much already." He stole the glass back and frowned before coming to a decision. "Up. Come on, up, little one. I will carry you over my shoulder if I must." 

She made no effort to move and even went as far as to go limp against him in a childish display of disappointment. Soul grunted, wrapped his arms around her, and stood in an alarming display of strength and grace. Maka squeaked pitifully and beat at his back half heartedly, moaning "Put me down, dragon! You can't very well steal me away from yourself! And just 'cause I'm not pretty enough-"

"Little one, I never said anything about your looks-" 

"You did! I'm not what you like! Aren't you supposed you ravish the maiden you steal! Why have you not ravished me? I thought you were going to eat me! And then you didn’t. And then I thought you were going to ravish me. But you didn't! And then you purred! And I just don't know, you stupid lizard!"

Soul let out a long sigh. "Little one?

"What, dragon?" Maka snarled with as much venom as she could muster while hanging upside down over his shoulder. 

Soul gave her no warning before throwing her into the deep end of the bath. He felt a little bad, but the water was at least warm, and he needed her to be slightly more coherent than she was if he were to explain himself. She broke the surface sputtering, hair a burnished gold and plastered to her head, delicate silk shirt clinging to her body in ways Soul did indeed find very beautiful. Maka was also cursing him in such creative ways, he would have expected such unladylike behavior to ruin the effect, but was surprised to find it didn’t. He smiled. 

Soul grabbed a towel for her and waited until her tirade was nearing its end before beckoning her to come out of the bath. "Hush, little one, you feel slightly better now right? Come get dry, I'll make some tea, and we can sleep." He opened the towel and waited until she pouted and walked slowly out of the water towards him. 

"You are mean, Soul. Very mean. And cruel. No, stop smiling. I am pointing out your flaws." Maka stepped out of the water clumsily and went to take the towel from Soul to dry herself off, but instead he enveloped her in a hug. 

"I'm sorry I threw you in the water, little one, and that you seem to be confused about your place here." Using a corner of the towel, he ruffled her hair and dried off her face, mimicking the paths her fingers had traced on his own. Soul gently tilted her head up so he could look her in the eye. "I would never force you, little one." His touch was light and Maka could easily pull away if she wanted. She searched his face for a moment, but only found raw honesty, and that was somehow even more attractive than the wisps of smoke that she'd been so taken with. She leaned heavily against him and let Soul continue to dry her off. Her head felt clearer since her impromptu bath and now she was just tired. 

"Bed, Soul?" her voice almost disappearing in the fabric of his shirt. 

"Yes, little one." He was kind enough to carry her back to the nest as she imagined a knight would carry a princess. But Soul was not a knight and Maka had sent the knight who had tried to rescue her away, and she wasn’t much of a princess. Nestled comfortably against his chest with the tips of her hair curling as they dried, Maka considered what he'd said. 

"You know, Soul… I don't think I would mind." 

Soul yawned, hiding his blush against her damp hair.

-

Soul laughed the next morning when she woke up with a headache, but kindly handed her a mug of water. It took her a few minutes to remember why she had a headache and what she had said to the dragon. Soul watched as Maka calmly placed the water down, took a deep breath, and looked at him with terrified eyes. 

"Little one? Are you well?"

"What....what you said last night?" 

"I meant what I said, Maka. I won't ever force you." 

"Because I'm not pretty enough to be a true sacrifice--" she started bluntly. 

Soul's growl made her head throb, but it caught her attention. "No. Because forcing a woman is disgusting and vile and I eat people who do that. It is not because I do not find you beautiful." 

Maka repeated his words several times before she understood what he had just said; heat crept into her cheeks and she sipped at the water he had brought to try to calm herself. Soul, meanwhile, scowled at nothing in particular. 

"I was going to go out and stretch my wings, little one, would you like to come outside? It is quite beautiful out, though the sun may hurt your eyes." He grinned at her when she squinted at the path and then at the nest. 

"I think I may stay in here and sleep more, my head feels like someone took a hammer to it; I should not have had so much wine." She shook her head and then regretted the action immediately, "but thank you." Soul thought about kissing her forehead but stood before he could act on the impulse. 

He rolled his shoulders, itching to shift and maybe even fly for a bit. "Sleep, don't read; the words will make it worse. I'll be outside if you need me, little one." Maka nodded and slipped back down into the nest, content to sleep her headache away.   
She awoke several hours later feeling lost in the large nest by herself, as she had become quite tangled in the blankets and had somehow managed to wedge herself between two pillows. Maka scrambled to be free; she wanted to find Soul, needed to check on Soul, needed to make sure he was still there. The stone was cool under her feet but not cold, as the weather was becoming much warmer with each passing day. She burst from the cave and was blinded by the bright sunshine. It was hard to imagine that not very long ago she had tried to escape in a horrific snow storm only to drag the unconscious dragon back to the very same cave. 

It took her a few minutes to blink the stars in her eyes away so that she could see the dragon, who was currently a dragon, curled up and rumbling while he napped in the sun. Maka smiled softly as she approached him. He was a truly stunning creature: easily the size of a house, if not larger, and his scales were such a brilliant white, they almost hurt to look at in the sunlight. Maka circled around him into the shade he was casting and admired the curve of his neck from his shoulders to his head, where he had an eye cracked open to look at her. 

Maka squeaked and flushed at having been caught staring, Soul rumbled and lifted his head to look at her better from where he had had it resting on his legs. "Oh, hush you overgrown gecko. Yes, you're very pretty." He nodded and almost seemed to grin at her. "May... May I touch you?" Soul nodded again and lay his head back down, still watching her. His scales were warm from the sun as she ran her hand down his neck, and she could feel his pulse and the way his muscles jumped. She stopped at his paw, or claw (Maka wasn't quite sure what to call it). He had five wicked looking curved claws that were all well armored, and despite how pale his scales were, Maka could see scars. One ran over the top of his paw and curved down, Maka wondered if he had the same scar when he was human. 

She stepped up onto his legs and clambered onto his back using the spines she had held onto when they had gone flying. There was a huff from Soul, and he moved which startled her, but was good enough to settle himself again. Maka stood, arms outstretched for balance, and walked towards his wings. They were folded neatly against himself, but the large joints were still exposed. He gave a low rumble when she ran her hand over the smaller scales, but didn't move. Gently, she began to massage as much of his wing as she could reach, just as she had done to his back. 

Soul grunted, but melted under her touch and began to purr with a violence she had not expected. The vibrations traveled up her feet and almost made her teeth chatter, but she didn't stop. The skin was tough and Maka suspected she wouldn't be able to do it for long. She worked on both wings for as long as she could, paying extra attention to the spots that made his purring stutter before becoming even louder. There were tender spots just under the joints, where there were no scales and the skin was warm and felt almost like the inside of his wrist.

The sun slowly sunk in the sky as Maka scratched at her sleeping dragon. Her fingers grew tired as she rubbed gently, Soul was purring so hard it was difficult to imagine him ever stopping. 

"You are a very strange dragon, you know. And to think, I was once intimidated by you." 

Soul grunted and flopped to his side, causing Maka to slide down his shoulder with a yelp until he caught her in the crook of his arm, cradling her to him. "Soul! I could have fallen! That wasn't at all nice of you!" He rumbled some sort of a chuckle at her and craned his long neck around to look at his little one. She was frowning at him, had her arms crossed over her chest, and her long legs tossed over his arm. The green shirt she was in had settled high on her thighs and the contrast of her skin against his scales made it had hard to look away. He very gently nudged her with his head, which made her giggle. "No, go away, I'm trying to be mad at you again!" She uncrossed her arms to hold his snout and tried not to grin. "You have to be careful, Soul, I'm much smaller than you." He blinked at her and pressed against her more. Maka sighed and rested her forehead on the tip of his nose. "Just your little one." 

He purred for a moment before setting her down and then shifting back to a man. He found her even before the mist cleared and wrapped his arm around her waist. Maka didn't shy away or startle, but smiled at him, and placed her hands on his chest to feel him purr. "Just your little one," she repeated. 

"More than that," Soul murmured as he leaned down and kissed her. It was soft and Maka relaxed in his arms. It was everything she had read about and yet none of it all at once. The books had forgot to mention they way his hands gripped her waist, or the way she could feel his nose against hers, and how her hands would find their way into his hair to hold him close. There was nothing written about how elated her heart was, how chapped his lips were, or how she could feel him smiling against her lips as they kissed.


	13. Jewel

She held the strand of perfect white pearls carefully, more and more jewelry had been appearing, sometimes ornately detailed and dripping in other jewels and others simple and elegant; like the cache of pearls she had just found wrapped in one of her favorite shirts.

Maka was always able to find pretty things in Soul's hoard and he never had a problem with her wearing them or displaying them more prominently. She had rescued paintings and had Soul hang them up, she had found yards and yards of fabric that she draped on the walls, there were rugs that she had unrolled to reveal rich patters and colors that she lay out on the floor to protect their feet from the cool stone. But recently small piles of exceptionally beautiful things had been showing up; they weren't exactly obvious, but she kept stumbling across them in places she frequented.

First, there had just been ribbons, then leather goods that felt as supple as butter, then crystalware that glittered in the light and held delicately scented perfumes. Stacks of books that she had only ever heard of but never even seen appeared in neat piles near the nest and scarves of the finest silk were tucked into the trunk where she kept her clothing. Gowns and dresses fit for queens were next, laying innocently by her whenever she woke up from an impromptu nap.

The dragon did not say anything, but he offered gentle smiles or even small kisses to the corner her mouth when she was particularly speechless.

She tried to argue with him, she was just a simple village girl! She had no need for such extravagance! Her tastes were simple and she did not feel fit to even gaze upon such beauty. But her dragon looked stricken each time she said as much, as though he were saddened that she did not feel worthy of his gifts. Her protests quieted, Maka was sure he meant well and she was flattered that he thought of her so highly.

It was the diamonds that could fit in her palm followed by the rubies, emeralds and sapphires that finally made her really confront Soul.

The jewels had been under her pillow as they settled in for a nap. At first she had simply thought that a blanket had become bunched, but when she felt something cool and hard, she knew she was in trouble. "Soul? What...what are these?" Maka pulled them out one by one, each glittering more than the last.

"Do you like them?" The dragon was lying on his side, watching her with his head propped up on a pillow. He had been looking forward to giving her these gems and seeing her face when she found them.

"They are beautiful, but what could I possibly use them for?" She stroked an emerald the size of her fist fondly.

Soul smiled at her. "Why do they need to have a use? Can they not just be pretty?"

"You mean like you?"

"You wound me, little one." He plucked the emerald out of her hand to inspect it as well. It was flawless and almost the same color as her eyes, though he preferred the warmth of her eyes to the cold depths of the gem. In his entire hoard, he had nothing quite the same shade of green. It had taken him hours of searching his hoard to find something even similar.

"But why, Soul? What are these for?" Maka had her suspicions and grabbed the emerald back to place it with the others an arm's length away. She wanted to know; her dragon seemed to be in a giving mood.

"You." He said as if it answered her all of her questions. Soul reached over to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear and regarded her for a moment. His magic rested over her like a blanket, content and beating with her heart. She truly was his greatest treasure of all. Her pout made him grin and pull her close, "I suppose I might be trying to impress you. Just a little though. Mostly I like to make you happy." He kissed her lips softly.

Maka's heart felt so full that she was afraid it might beat right out of her chest. "Dragon...Soul, you are quite silly." She kissed his lips and could not help but smile at the ease of the action. "I need nothing but you and your purrs while we sleep to make me happy." Her hand was gentle on his cheek while he blinked his surprise at her.

For all his life, as a prince and a dragon, he had never fathomed that there would be such a beautiful and kind woman who would care so much for him.

"Free, I have a job for you." Her voice made his stomach turn. "Now that the dragon has been located, I want you to see if he has any weaknesses. The more I know, the easier I can kill him." Ragnarok shifted behind her and rasped out what may have been a laugh. Free tried his best to keep from shaking. "Oh, and leave Eruka here, I have something else for her to do."

His heart sank.

Their goodbye was short; he worried about her when he wasn't around to protect her or even shift the blame. "I am strong, Free, and I will be okay. Just don't go getting yourself killed," Eruka and whispered to him.

"Do as she says, I will be back before you know it." Free wished to hold her or drop a small kiss to her forehead to reassure her, but they were always being watched, always in danger, and any such show of affection would just be used to hurt them.

"Go," was all she said, and he hated that he could head the fear and sadness in her voice.

He traveled at night, careful to avoid the town at the base of the dragon's mountain, and even went as far as trekking up the smaller mountain just next to where the dragon lived so there would be no chance that he would be detected. Free set up his small camp and cast his own spell, which enabling him to see across great distances and anything hidden by magic. It was an expensive magic, one that had cost him an eye, but it made him indisposable. It had taken him decades to master the magic, but as he scanned the mountain side, he quickly spotted the glowing runes that hid a cave entrance.

To the naked eye the runes would have been invisible, but to Free they glowed a bright red and danced across his field of vision. He settled in to watch that area for as long as it took to satisfy Medusa.

"Come on, little one! Do you have your boots?" he called from the mouth of the cave. Maka huffed and rolled her eyes while she pulled her boots on. She had been pretty sure that she had left them near her cloak, but they had not been there when she checked. Soul had offered to take her into town again, he had errands to run, which made her giggle, because really, a dragon with errands! But she was excited to have another chance to fly with him and to stretch her legs.

The cave was nice, warm, well decorated and had plenty of interest, but Maka was unused to staying in one place for so long. Even when she lived in town with her father, she would take long walks through the fields and down to the river near the outskirts of the town. She enjoyed taking as many different paths as possible and tried to go just a little farther than she had the day before on all of her adventures.

Soul, however, was more than happy to nap his days away in the cave. Though lately he was perfectly content to pull Maka against him and kiss her until she was a giggling mess in his arms.

"Coming, you silly lizard! You had moved them on me!" She darted up from the pillow she'd been sitting on over to her dragon. "Stop hiding my things."

"I only ever hide your books when you do not pay enough attention to me, little one. Not your boots, you do that to yourself." He grinned down at her and placed a little kiss at the corner of her mouth when she scowled.

"I still have not found three of those books, Soul." It was hard to keep from smiling; it seemed that given any chance to kiss her, Soul would. Maka swatted his arm lightly; she truly did want to finish reading the books and he was so needy sometimes.

She did greatly enjoy his affections though. It was hard not to, as his touch was always gentle and warm. Sometimes it was even hot and heavy in ways that made her shiver for something more. Soul never pushed her or took more than she was willing to give, but for every inch she gave, he worshiped her.

"Good, you were far too interested in those dusty old things."

"I bet you do not even remember where you hid them! Lost forever in that mess you call a hoard." Maka continued to lament the unfinished books he had hidden away as they walked out of the cave, but took his arm when he offered it to her. The day was beautiful, large clouds dotting the blue sky and a warm breeze played with the tips of her hair. She stole a kiss from Soul and let go of his arm to give him space to shift.

"Where do you think you are going, little one?" He caught her hand and tugged her to his chest. "Just one little kiss?" Maka giggled when he nuzzled her face and let herself melt against him.

"Such a mmm- needy dragon." He kissed her soundly in between her words and her smile.

Soul enjoyed taking his time when he kissed her, thoroughly tasting her and making sure that she was left breathless. He reveled in her warmth and affection: the gentle sighs and hitches in her breath when he tugged on her lower lip, and the way she looked at him afterwards with hooded eyes and her lips parted just so.

He wished to see how she would look when she came undone for him in their nest, how her skin would feel under his hands, and how she would taste. But he hesitated; his actions early on had scared her and tainted her thoughts of him so terribly that Soul was not sure what he should do. Maka had expressed her interest, however quietly and shyly, and responded to his touch so happily that by no means would it be difficult to move forward. But still, Soul did not push.

She was right though, he was a needy and greedy dragon. Soul craved her hesitant touches more than any gold or jewel. Her hands resting on his neck or wound into his hair to hold him close while they kissed, clutching at the front of his shirt or even at his back while she boldly leaned against him. There were moments when he so desperately wanted her that he would have to pull away to collect himself. Maka never let him go far; she held him so that he could hide against her neck and listen while her own heart calmed.

They had been doing this to each other almost every day and night for the past two weeks; Soul trying to follow Maka's pace and not overwhelm her while Maka tried to find the words to ask for more.

She finally pulled away from his kiss, panting for breath and cheeks flushed with color. "We should go before we distract each other further, dragon. You have errands after all."

"They could wait?" he offered with a grin.

Maka swatted his chest and stepped away, "but you have such important lizard errands!" Her voice carried her mirth.

Soul rolled his eyes and stepped back as well until he could shift without hurting her. Calling on his magic while imagining his scales and wings brought forth the mist that masked his transformation. It did not hurt, but when Maka had asked him to describe it to her one morning while they drank their tea, he had found himself at a loss for words.

"It..it is like remembering something. Or, no. Perhaps not. When I want my scales, I remember what they feel like, how my wings feel on my back. And when I want my skin I think of how it feels to curl my hand into a fist, how I walk. Does that make sense?"

Maka had nodded and continued to drink her tea.

The mists cleared and he stood before her, neck curved and wings extended. She smiled. He was magnificent. "And to think I once feared you." Maka did not hesitate when she walked forward to his head and pet the spikes above his eye gently. "Now come, we have lizard errands to run!"

Soul lay down for her to scramble up his leg and onto his back and grumbled happily when she scratched at the base of his wing. His little one really was quite little; he could hardly feel her weight when he got to his feet and unfurled his wings. He could just feel how she patted his neck, ready to fly.

The thrill of the dive until the sharp turn into the sky always made her heart leap into her mouth. As they had leveled out, Maka relaxed and allowed the felt a sense of freedom to overtake her; she had only ever found it while flying with Soul. It happened each time and it was not difficult to see why Soul loved to fly so much. The steady beat of his wings against the roaring wind, the way the trees grew smaller beneath them, and the warm scales under her warding off the chill of the sky.

It was five days before Free saw anything of any interest.

Free watched as though he were standing hardly ten feet away from the mouth of the cave as a man with white hair walked out followed closely by a woman. She must have been the sacrifice the idiot knight had spoken of, she looked happy enough. Though Free was surprised that she was still alive, for even if the dragon had taken a fondness to her, he would have still eaten her eventually.

He was not expecting the dragon to lean down and kiss the woman, nor for her to smile so brightly at him in return. And then she kissed him! And what a kiss it was. Free felt bad to intrude on such a private moment and that their happiness would not last any longer than his mistress allowed it too. But to be able to report back that the dragon had such a vulnerability? Perhaps he could save his own beloved.

After watching the man step back and disappear in a mist only to reemerge as a dragon was as much as Free needed to see. He cut the spell and returned the same way he came.

Together they flew until they reached the river town where Soul had business. Maka enjoyed watching the way the sun glittered off the river and how it reflected the clouds. It felt too short before Soul began his gentle descent to a clearing along the river. He was careful to stay out of sight from the villages he visited, as he didn't need anyone making connections between dragon sightings and his arrival. Maka held on tightly, because though he tried to make his landings as smooth as possible, they were still jarring.

The river bank was soft under Soul's claws when he landed and skidded to a stop. Looking over his back, he confirmed that little one was still there and smiling brightly at him. And behind them were deep gouges in the dirt, let them enjoy imagining what beast made those marks! Soul padded forward until the ground was dry enough for Maka to dismount without splashing her dress with mud and lowered himself to the sun-warmed grass. He was half tempted to just nap there; the rustle of the trees and gurgle of the river were perfect noise to nap to and his business in town could wait a while, at least until the sun moved off his wings.

"Oh, you absurd dragon, you can not possibly want another nap. I swear, you are worse than a cat." Maka jumped off his back, lost her footing, and rolled into the grass, laughing at herself. Soul picked up his head to nudge her and make sure she was not hurt. "I am quite alright, Soul. I promise." She stroked his nose and giggled when his hot breath washed over her. "Alright, sleep if you wish, I'm going to pick wild flowers and play in the river."

He snorted but touched her cheek with his nose in what Maka assumed was a little dragon kiss and settled back down in the grass. There was little she could do when Soul had nap in mind. First though, she wanted her boots off so she could feel the earth below her. Maka sat on Soul's claw, it being the most convenient place to sit without dirtying her bottom and because it amused her, and removed her boots and socks. As an afterthought, she knotted her dress so it only came down to her knees, exactly as she had done when she traveled up Soul's mountain.

"Sleep well, Soul, I will not be far," Maka whispered and placed a kiss of her own against his cheek.

There were daisies everywhere she turned as she made her own path into the woods. Perhaps she should make a daisy crown for herself, or better yet for her dragon. Maka immediately decided that she would have to do exactly that. She began to gather them up while humming to herself quietly. There were other lovely flowers in vibrant hues of pink, purple, and yellow that Maka picked as well. The grass felt good under her feet and the day was warm with the promise of the upcoming summer.

When she was satisfied that he had enough flowers to make a crown for her dragon and herself, Maka wandered back to the river. Soul was still sleeping, the dappled shade of the trees just beginning to play across his back. He really was ridiculous, sleeping his days away and bothering her for attention when he was awake. Not that she really minded.

Maka sat on a flat rock in the river, the current just washing over her feet while she worked on the crowns. She made her own first to remind herself how to tie the flowers together and soon she was weaving without issue. It was done in no time at all and Maka placed it atop her head and set to making a much larger one to fit on Soul's enormous head.

His crown took much longer and used almost all of the daisies she had picked as well as some of the prettier flowers. But she was quite proud by the time she finished and quickly padded up to Soul's head and draped it over him. It sat a bit crooked and looked so adorable on such a fearsome creature that she could not help but giggle.

With a rumble, Soul cracked an eye to look at her, just what was his little one giggling at? She looked very cute in the little daisy chain adorning her head, and she appeared to be looking at him, but he had no idea what she was actually giggling at.

"Oh, Soul! You will have to forgive me, but I have made you quite precious." At this he cocked his head to the side and the crown shifted over one of his eyes. He blinked, focused one the blurry flowers in front of his face, then on Maka, even more confused. She tapped her own crown, "I made one for you too."

He shifted down into a man and the daisy chain fell around his shoulders and to the ground. "You made me a flower crown?"

"Well, yes. It was something for me to do while you napped. And I like flowers. I am quite glad winter is finally over, I miss how green everything is." Maka stepped close to him to straighten a few of the flowers resting against his chest and shoulders.

"But a flower crown? On a dragon? I'm a great and-"

"Soul, if you even think about saying 'terrifying' I will begin to laugh. And I will not stop." The seriousness with which she said this made him frown. "You are a kind and gentle man." He snorted and tried to protest, but Maka was already walking towards the town where they had meant to be much earlier. She turned back to look at him, "Though you may yet prove to just be a kitten after all!" Maka laughed and sprinted away and Soul gave chase while sputtering and trying not to grin.


	14. Books

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 15 should be up in a week.

Soul caught his little one and swung her up onto his shoulder just before they reached the main city gates. She laughed, until tears of mirth were streaming from her eyes, beat his back and tugged on the tips of his ears until he put her down again.

"Oh whatever shall I do? Caught by such a scandalous lord? What will people say about my morals and reputation?" Maka placed a wrist to her forehead and pretended to swoon against his chest. "Unwed and living with a man, no one would ever believe my virtue to still be intact!" When she leaned back to look up at her dragon, his cheeks were bright red but he was grinning at her.

"What reputation, little one? All you do is read and beat me with books if I try to interrupt you while you read."

"This is true! Perhaps I would be better off as a lady knight; I have managed to beat a certain dragon on numerous occasions. And I have even taken some of his hoard as my own!"

Soul nipped at her neck in retaliation. "If anything, the dragon somehow manages to share his hoard with you."

"Oh no, we do not share that velvet pillow. That is mine." Maka pushed away from his chest and laced their fingers together, pulling him forward to the village. "Come now, you had errands and I wanted to look for more books and maybe a new dress."

He spluttered; the last thing she needed was more books! And he had enough dresses tucked away in chests to last her several lifetimes over.

Soul stopped walking.

Maka would not be able to wear all the dresses he had because she would die many decades before he even aged slightly. They would not be able to grow old together. Her time was so limited compared to his. His magic slowed his aging drastically and Soul had no real idea as to how long he would live.

The abrupt stop and their connected hands made Maka jerk back, almost stumbling into him. "Soul? What is wrong?" He looked nearly distraught. She squeezed his hand trying to get his attention.

"Little one..." He used their connected hands to pull her closer to him. "And to think, I have wasted so much time sleeping," he said almost to himself.

Not knowing what else to do, Maka hugged her dragon. She had never seen him sad like this before, even if she did not know what had caused it. "You like to sleep, silly man. It makes you happy," Maka offered, hoping to ease some of the guilt that seemed to be washing off of him in waves.

"No, spending time with you makes me happy, little one." And he had so little of it left. Her life would be such a small portion of his, but Soul swore to himself that he would make it the best part of his life.

"Just what has gotten into you, Soul?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, little one. My apologies. Come, let us go find you more books and actually do my errands." Soul kissed her temple; he had not meant to worry her with it. Maka seemed to understand that they were done discussing whatever had just passed through her dragon's head, but her frown made it clear to him that she was not pleased to have it dismissed so quickly.

Maka tucked herself against his side and they walked into the city together.

As it turned out, his errands were picking up a new pair of leather boots he had commissioned several months ago, as well as a book that he very sternly told her was not for her. Maka had swatted his shoulder, telling him that would only make her more curious about the book. To appease her, Soul simply handed her the small pouch brimming with gold coins when they spotted the book shop.

As before in the other town, it took her quite a while to pick which ones she wanted. Soul watched her selection process with great interest; she was reverent each time she picked up a new book. Her interest in the ornate covers and delicate gold leaf was nothing compared to the way she read the first page. If she liked it, she would almost glow with excitement. But if it were dull or offensive, her lips would thin into a line and her eyebrows would furrow together.

Soul let his little one take her time finding just the right selection of books that she wanted. He wanted to do something for her, more than just giving her gifts or impressing her with his hoard. Maka had expressed her elation when he took her flying; perhaps he could do that more often. Maybe he could take her to somewhere she had never been, across the country's boarders or even to the ocean.

She had mentioned wanting to go to the ocean before. Soul blinked. Skies above he was dumb. He knew exactly what he could give to Maka.

"Soul! I am done!" He could barely see her behind the tower of books all wrapped up in paper that she held.

"Sure you did not forget the other half of the store?"

"Oh hush and help me carry these." Maka smiled at him gratefully when he took most of the books from her. "Thank you. Now what other business do we have here?"

There was little else he needed and all of his actual business had been taken care of. "You had mentioned wanting a new dress? Despite the fact that you have not worn even half of the ones I have given you."

Realizing that she was now treading dangerous waters, Maka bumped her hip lightly against her dragon. "It is not because I do not like the ones you have given me. It is because they are simply too beautiful to wear everyday and should be saved for special occasions." Not that she knew when she would be attending such an occasion that required gowns fit for queens. "I just need a simple dress, other than those silk shirts I have been using."

"Why? Those silk shirts are perfect." Mostly in that they showed so much of her legs and could be pushed to one side to expose her shoulders for him to mark.

Maka could almost pinpoint exactly when his thoughts became perverted. "Because you get that look in your eyes," she huffed and walked off to one of the stalls of dresses.

In truth, she liked when Soul looked at her like that. All heated, as though she were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. But, he never did anything! All those glances and the kisses that left her trembling and too warm and almost wet were slowly driving her insane.

It frustrated her that she did not know how to ask for more or even what she would be asking for. Hopefully several of the books she had picked out would help. They were rather risqué stories of forbidden romances, daring love, and brave maidens. Well, at least Maka hoped there would be brave maidens. She had never managed to connect to the women who were always fainting at the mere thought of a man.

She had been prepared to die fighting a dragon; Maka liked to think she was a little bit brave. She just did not know how to be brave when it came to the man and his sharp teeth that felt so good on her skin.

He followed her into the stall, touching the fabrics and frowning when he did not like something. Maka stifled a giggle; he was such a strange dragon. She continued to look, trying to find something simple that she could wear while they flew and then into town, but everything felt heavy and rough after being so spoiled by all the fine silks and soft wool that Soul had given her.

A bright, scarlet fabric caught her eye, glimmering in the sunlight and throwing golden undertones across it. "Ah, you have a good eye, Lady." The blond haired shop keeper pulled the fabric forward from the bar it was hung on. "One of my finest imports from lands to the far far East."

Maka felt Soul move behind her, eyeing the shopkeeper and the fabric. "It's fake."

"My Lord!"

"Why would you say that?"

"It is a glimmer spell. It will wear off in a few days; most of the things in here are enchanted to be much more beautiful than they are." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the shop keeper.

"My Lord! I would never, I assure you, I am but a humble shop keeper!" He bowed, but kept his eyes on them, the strange metal plate over his nose glinting in the sun.

Maka stood very still. The air had shifted and she could almost feel it spark. "So-"

"We need to leave." He placed a hand on her waist and steered her away, his gait quick and controlled. "Do not say my name, little one. Not right now." Soul's voice was strained but she could still hear the snarl. "This is not your fault," he said before she could even ask.

She clutched at her books and jogged every few steps to try and keep up with the quick pace he was setting. They reached the gate, and Maka was half surprised Soul had not shifted right then. He kept his composure right until they reached the river where water had filled the deep claw marks from when he had landed that morning. A growl ripped from his throat as he shifted into his scales.

It was a such a stupid mistake; he just had to go and call out the glimmer spell! With his magic so close to his eyes, it had been easy to see through the spell on the shop keeper as well. He had not seen a soul that corrupt in many years; the screams from the man's most recent victims still clung in the air around him so strongly that Soul could taste their fear.

He nudged his little one with his head, nuzzling her gently and encouraging her up onto his back. He appreciated the kiss that she pressed to his snout, as it helped him calm down enough to think clearly. To go unseen he would have to fly low until he could find an up draft to shoot him up into the sky.

Running starts were always annoying as a dragon, especially when he had to run up a river, but he managed. Maka gripped his spines as they skimmed the tree tops flying away from the village. He would have to come back tonight and hunt that shop keeper down. Especially after the way he had dared look at his little one.

"Shh, Soul, you are growling. It is alright, we are heading home." Maka stroked his neck and hoped that he could hear her over the wind. "I am safe, I am with you."

They made it back to their mountain, which did seem to calm Soul down some. Instead of letting her off, he walked into the cave still as a dragon, huffing and growling intermittently, which was an improvement over the continuous growling and snarling he'd been doing for most of the flight.

Maka finally pulled out her secret weapon against the dragon and started to massage the knots out of his wing joints. Soul actually tripped before settling onto his belly on the cave floor and let Maka work her own magic on him. He still was not purring but she slid down and walked around to his head.

"Change? Please?" she asked while stroking his nose. He blinked slowly and sighed, blowing warm air on her legs. Mists over took him and he walked forward as a man with his shoulders hunched and a scowl on his face. Maka breathed his name, hesitant to touch him.

"Most of those dresses were from that man's victims. The glimmer spells hid the blood stains, and the other spells in the fabric to help him find the girl wearing the dress after he had sold it," Soul told her plainly. "He wanted to tear you apart, little one. He wanted to hurt you like he has hurt countless other girls."

Soul had not been expecting her to frown. Maybe shiver, maybe hug him for comfort, but instead she frowned and looked furious. It made him grin just a little; she was so much stronger than he remembered to give her credit for and it never stopped surprising him.

"You will eat his soul, right?" She asked.

"Of course."

"Good." Maka nodded, her eyes steely. "Now relax. We are safe, at home, and had been having a lovely day right up to that point. Lie down, you have made a mess of your back and are going to be all grumpy tomorrow if I do not get those knots out."

Soul could not decide between grumbling or laughing, but either way he settled down into their nest and waited for her. It was not long before Maka kneeled down next to him and really began to massage his back. It was easy to almost melt under her hands, she had figured out where all of the really sensitive spots were and where the worst of the knots gathered as well. Soon, his grumbling turned to purrs and he finally let himself relax. When she was done, Maka lay next to him and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose.

"I want you to stay here tonight, little one, while I hunt."

"As if I would leave." She had not felt the need to escape for many weeks. "Will you be gone long?"

"Hopefully no. I should like to be back for breakfast and our late morning nap."

Maka used her fingers to trace his face, giggling when his eyelashes tickled her, "it still amuses me that you schedule naps." Soul nipped at her in retaliation.

"Mmm, perhaps I should just bother you and keep you from reading." He had meant to stop napping quite so much, plus the idea of annoying her did sound like fun. Even if it would end with Maka applying a book to his head. Another thought occurred to him, "if you are good I might have a present for you when I get back."

"Just come back safely, that is all I would like." She rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes. Even though he was a dragon, she still worried for him.

Soul pulled his little one close, showering her face in kisses until she was giggling and trying to hide. "I will be home before you know it. I promise." He gave her a lingering kiss, almost as though he were going to say something else, but instead kissed her again and rose from the nest. Maka looked so small in their nest; it took everything he had not to lay back down with her. He nodded when she smiled and left to go hunt the disgusting soul.

She tried to distract herself for a while, making a small dinner, sorting through some of Soul's hoard, but eventually she gave up and settled back into the nest to read some of her new books. Hopefully to learn just what her dragon was making her feel and how to ask for what she wanted.

The books did not disappoint. One in particular about a princess, who had fallen in love with her personal guard, a foreign man loyal only to her, gave her exactly what she was looking for. While the princess was promised to another, she loved the guard and wanted to prove their love, regardless that they may not be able to marry. The guard worried about her virtue and her reputation even though he desired her just as much. After many chapters of their mutual attraction, the slow burn, the princess and the guard found themselves alone and she finally convinced him to not only share her bed but their love.

Maka was completely unable to put the book down. She half hoped that Soul would come back so quickly that he would still find her reading it. But as she was nearing the end of the book, significantly more enlightened as to the on goings of love and passion, there was still no tell tale rhythm of wings or grumbling dragon. She finished the book with a sigh in what she suspected to be the early hours of the morning, the princess and her guard having been married after a valiant act by the guard to protect the princess and expose her intended fiancé's less than worthy plans for her. Their love had overcome all odds and it made Maka smile and roll against a pillow to try and contain her giggles and the giddy smile that made her cheeks hurt. If only she and Soul could have such a story!

It did not take Soul long to find the merchant with the bloodied dresses. His magic spiked and called for a soul so repulsive and evil that Soul could nearly taste it. The night was overcast; low hanging clouds obscuring the villages below and hiding him and the stars from view. It was easy to glide, unseen and unheard, to where the merchants tended to camp for the night.

Soul circled high above the camp until he could pin point where his prey was set up for the night. He was on the outskirts, far from any other tent and close to the woods. If the man bolted into the forest Soul would have no choice but to follow him on foot. He preferred minimal exposure with as little disturbance as possible, but the magic was screaming in his veins that this would not be so simple. This man was an experienced killer; Soul had no doubt that if given a chance he would fight.

He dove down into the clouds, wings folded against his back, wind whistling across his scales, and at the last moment he shifted so that he dropped onto the ground crouched as a man. With one steady breath, Soul stretched his hand out, and summoned the scythe he had gone to battle with against Ragnarok. He never carried the weapon but just as he could shift in and out of his scales, he could also summon the scythe as the magic had made it a part of him. It was rare that he felt the need to use it, usually just being a dragon was sufficient power, but this soul was requiring extra attention.

"Ain't sure what you are, but I was hopin' you'd bring that little bitch of yours along. She had such good taste and would have looked so pretty all carved up!" The light of the torches glinted off the metal on the man's face when he walked forward from his tent. Soul stayed silent, choosing not to let the comment rile him. He stood, his black and red scythe resting on his shoulder, and watched the man. "I went asking around 'bout you. No one knows who you are or where you come from. Just say that you're all polite and rich. So tell me, you gonna share some of that since you cheated me out of the slut?"

Soul stepped forward and swung the scythe in an arc directly towards him. The man blocked with his arm, a kind of metal chain running through his skin that sent sparks flying when the two weapons met. "Name's Giriko and I'm gonna fucking rip you to shreds and then I'm gonna show your body to that little green eyed whore and fuck her so hard she bleeds!"

He did not even try to stop the growl that ripped from his throat as he engaged the man in combat. If he had any qualms before about just how vile this soul was they were absolutely gone now. They fought hard and Soul was grateful for the long range of his weapon because it kept him far from the screeching chains Giriko was using. He kept trying to taunt Soul, cackling about all the ways he wanted to defile Maka and detailing how he would kill her.

There was a moment when Giriko attacked that Soul finally saw his opening. The chains cut deep into his side but his scythe cut deeper through Giriko's heart. "You will never touch her," his snarl was low as Giriko dissolved into a pulsing red soul, corrupted with hatred and the screams of innocent people. Soul regarded it coldly, feeling the sweat on the back of his neck cool and the warm blood running down his side to soak his shirt. He banished the scythe and picked up the soul, "no one will ever hurt my little one."

Soul made sure to rip the soul apart with his teeth when he ate it with no small amount of hidden pleasure.

Their fight had attracted attention from the other merchants, Soul left quickly after eating, shifting and flying back into the clouds, leaving only a faint trace of blood that he had ever been there.

He made it back a few hours after sunrise; exhausted from the fight and the magic working to heal his side while also keep him in his scales. He was in desperate need of a nap but even more pressing was to make sure that Maka was safe. It was silly, and he knew it, she had been in their cave the entire time, nothing could have happened to her. But after listening to Giriko it was hard to forget some of the images of her lying broken on the ground and bleeding.

Soul was unsure if he even wanted to shift back into a man as he landed outside the mouth of his cave and stumbled. He had already endured shifting into his scales and the wound rearranging itself to stretch all across his ribs and the thought of shifting back to a man and dealing with that pain all over again did not appeal to him.

Maka came running from the cave her expression quickly changing from elation to horror. "Soul!? You are hurt!" She cried running to his side. The wound was ugly and jagged, blood oozing from between the white scales and staining them. He craned his neck around to nudge her gently, trying to get her attention back on him and not the cut. She pet his nose and around his eye, "come into the cave, we can get you washed up and into the nest to sleep."

He nodded and let Maka walk beside him back into the cave, her hand never leaving his face. She quickly set about getting cloths and water to wash the wound with, as well as bandages from one of the baskets around the cave. "Can you change? I know it will hurt, but you may feel better sleeping in the nest," Maka reasoned with him. She was right, and his magic would not be so divided between keeping him a dragon and trying to heal him.

With a great shuddering groan he shifted back down, gritting his teeth and clutching at his side. Maka smoothed his hair back and stroked his face again, letting him focus on her rather than the pain. He leaned into her hand gratefully, trying to mumble how it was nothing, just a cut. "Hush, Soul. It causes you pain, it is more than nothing. Let me wash and dress it and you can sleep, alright?"

She was gentle, pressing the damp cloth to his side and being careful not to irritate the skin further. "Can you take your shirt off for me?" Maka asked softly, it was in her way. Soul grunted and simply ripped it off, wary that if he pulled it off he would pull at the wound. It was soaked with blood anyway, no use in trying to save it. "Will your magic heal this?"

"Yes, mostly while I sleep. Just too tired right now." He pushed a few wisps of her hair back behind her ear, content to be touching her. Maka gave him a small smile before returning to her work. Soon he was patched up, chewing on leaves that would help dull the pain and tucked into their nest. "I feel like a child, little one," Soul grumbled as she fluffed another pillow for him.

"My little dragon," she teased with a tap to his nose. He feigned a growl but could not help but smile when she lay down on his good side. "Will I hurt you if I lay with you?"

"Never, little one," Soul promised. He could hardly keep his eyes open and the warmth from Maka promised a relaxing sleep for him. With his last ounce of energy, he wrapped his arm around her and held her close, certain that knowing she was there and safe would keep away any nightmares he might have had otherwise.

Soul was asleep as soon after wrapping his arm around her shoulders; Maka watched him for a time. He did look paler than usual and had seemed almost shaken when he returned. She would have to ask him about it when he woke up. She was not quite tired enough to sleep, as she had slept quite late already and had only been awake for an hour or two before Soul came back. But it was nice to be held, she had missed his warmth and the way he rumbled and sometimes snored. "My dragon," she whispered with a smile, "my good dragon."


	15. Silk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry, said it would be two weeks, it was a bit longer. Life happens, per usual. But enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!

Soul slept through most of the day, waking up around dinner time hungry and sore but no longer in pain or even bleeding. Maka couldn’t even bring herself to chide him for sleeping so much; knowing him he’d still sleep through the night. She fixed them a simple meal that her dragon scarfed down before she was even half way done with her plate.

He lounged while she finished her dinner, stretched out like an oversized cat in front of the hearth and deflected each question about his hunt.

“It was nothing exciting, little one,” Soul claimed as he batted at her ankle when she walked by.

“Soul, you came back hurt, perhaps exciting is the wrong word, but something happened. And stop that! If you trip me I will drop this plate on your head.”

Her pursed lips were met only with a shrug and a grin. “Did you do anything exciting while I was away?” He reached up more to tug at the hem of her silk shirt.

“I will step on you.” Maka stepped away quickly before he could see her blush, the book’s steamier parts coming to mind. “I read, not much else to do.” It was the truth, though she would die before she admitted what she had been reading to him. Perhaps hiding that book would be a good idea, it would be easy to tuck away into some corner of the overflowing hoard her dragon so proudly kept.

The feel of silk put a bitter taste in Soul’s mouth but reminded him that he promised her a present when he returned. While his real gift to her would not be ready for a good while, he could at least give her something in the mean time. He even had a vague idea of where they were stashed.

“Soul, why will you not tell me what happened?” She turned around from the basin of water where they washed their plates and sighed, he wasn’t on the rug anymore. “Where did you go, you silly lizard?”

It was quiet for a few minutes more until he came around a corner carrying a beautifully lacquered box. “Promised you something when I came back.”

Maka quickly dried her hands on a towel and moved to take the box from him, but he shuffled away and put it down just next to their nest. “You brat, give me that. You are going to strain your side!”

“It was nothing, little one, promise.” While her concern was appreciated, he wanted her to be impressed with his gift. “Come open it, they are even more beautiful that what you found in the market.” Soul sat down against the pillows and grinned at her.

She eyed the box and then the dragon trying to feign indifference. “Of course they are.”

“Do I detect disbelief, little one?”

Finally giving in to temptation, Maka let herself kneel in front of the box and open it. Folded neatly inside were two stacks of cloth the color of jewels. She reached out to touch it reverently, “Soul, I thought these were just going to be yards of fabric, not actual...dresses? Robes? What are these and how do you wear them?” She pulled the light pink robe from the top of the first stack to let it unfold to reveal it was dotted with yellow butterflies and inspected the cut of the fabric.

“I believe they are called kimonos? Something like that. There are big long strips of fabric you tie around your middle like a belt to hold them shut. Honestly, I am not sure. I have had them forever but never had a little one to model them for me.” His grin was downright lecherous.

Maka threw the pink kimono on his head and continued digging. The silk, with beautiful hand stitched embroidery, was the heaviest she had ever felt. “These make the silk shirts I have been enjoying look like cotton!”

Soul snorted, exceedingly pleased with Maka’s reaction. “Told you they were prettier.”

There were so many to pick from: a deep rich red with elegant black and white birds, an azure that faded from a blue so dark it looked black all the way to a white at the hem with silver flower petals rippling across the silk, an exquisite purple with a bronze tree wrapping around it, but it was the forest green that made Soul sit bolt upright.

“That one, little one.” He moved closer to the chest and pulled out an impossibly long piece of gold silk to go with the green kimono. Maka gave him a skeptical look. She was more than happy to just look at them, she was not sure about wearing one. But her dragon looked so hopeful and she was curious how such fine silk would feel on her skin.

“Close your eyes.”

Soul did not even protest.

She shimmied out of her shirt and made quick work of her socks. Maka debated for a second and then took her slip off as well before putting the kimono on.

The silk was cold on her shoulders but warmed quickly; it almost felt like wearing water. She wrapped the long golden sash around her waist several times and tied it at her hip, closing the kimono. Sort of. It gaped open across her chest, the green and gold framing her pale skin and the slight curves of her breasts in what she hoped was an appealing way. It was so low, but her nipples were covered and maybe...this would entice the dragon?

Well, if her chest did not, her legs might. They were almost completely on display and if she took a step forward, the silk slipped across her thigh.

Maka worked to gather her courage, remembering the heroine from her book and how it had been her strength and determination even more than her beauty that won her knight’s heart. He had thought her beautiful because of her heart, and Maka could only hope that Soul would think similarly if he were truly displeased with her form.

Before she could allow herself to worry more, she faced Soul and with a voice much softer than she intended, said, “you can open your eyes.”

The green kimono was dusted in golden flowers, almost as if they had been scattered on the fabric and had concentrated at the hem pooled around her feet. Maka supposed between her eyes and her hair it was a good choice, but hopefully she did not dull the kimono’s beauty.

Soul looked her up and down, mouth parted just slightly. “Turn?” His voice seemed gruffer than usual, but she did as he asked, stretching out her arms to show off the impressive sleeves and how they hung down over her fingertips. The silk twisted around her legs, emphasizing how much extra fabric there was and almost creating the illusion that she rose out of a pile of golden flowers.

He stood from the nest, stopping her on her second turn, the calluses on his hands catching on the silk around her waist. “Do you like it?” She nodded; it was the finest thing she had ever worn. His eyes were almost black, the red nearly gone. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” Soul rasped.

Maka tried to respond but Soul’s mouth was on hers, stealing her voice. His hands pulled her flush against him, feeling the curve of her spine, the flare of her hips, and how she shivered when he bit her bottom lip. He tasted like smoke and when he pulled away to let her breathe, she could see it curling from the corner of his mouth. She fisted her hands in his sleeves; he would not simply kiss her this time. Encouraged by his words and his lips, she pressed on. She wanted him.

Soul was not at all prepared when Maka surged up to kiss him, just as insistent and pressing as he had been. She dragged her tongue along his while one of her hands let go of his sleeve to grasp at the back of his neck, pulling him down to hers. The few times he had let himself kiss her neck, it had been chaste presses of his lips, maybe a flick of his tongue, but this time he let himself suck and bite a mark into the pale skin of her neck.

Her breath hitched and she moaned for him, tugging on his hair and keeping him close to her skin. Soul placed three gentle kisses and bit again, lower this time where her neck sloped down to her shoulder. “Soul! Please!” She was burning; she felt too hot, the silk no longer cool water on her skin but molten gold, and there was so much pleasure each time he touched her she did not know what to do with it.

“What do you need, Maka?” Soul licked the marks he’d made, feeling her tremble against him. It would be easy to simply push the silk away from her body, to taste all of her and to take her. He let out his own shuddering breath and could watch the goose bumps rise against the flushed skin of her chest.

She pulled him back up to kiss her again, moving with him and grinding their hips together. Something electric ran through her body when she pressed against the hard length in his pants. Maka tried it again, pressing forward and moving and Soul groaned into her mouth, his hands holding her hips so tight it almost hurt.

“Maka, what do you need?” he tried again. His lips brushed hers with every word while he pushed and pulled her hips against his. He would not ask for more than he was given, but this was such perfect torture to have her against him.

“You.” Maka let her head fall to his chest, gasping and shaking. She opened her eyes and watched a bead of sweat trickle down her dragon’s neck. His skin tasted like salt and smoke when she licked the bead of sweat away. She pressed kisses to his neck just as he had done to hers.

Soul went still. There was no way she could be serious. Did she know what she was asking? His little one probably did not, and he would not give her all of him until she was truly ready. She let out a small cry when he stopped moving.

“Please! Soul, you are driving me crazy! I cannot...I need this pleasure to let go! Please!” Maka grasped the back of his neck again, standing on her toes to kiss him desperately. She no longer cared about how wanton she sounded or how improper this was. She desired him and that was what mattered.

He hushed her and picked her up before settling her in his lap in the nest. The green kimono splayed across her legs, open almost all the way like an invitation. He could still feel how hot her skin was even through the fabric. “It is alright, little one, tell me to stop anytime you want me to.” Maka pressed her face to the side of his neck, acutely embarrassed.

Her dragon moved and was kissing her neck again, one arm around her waist holding her still against his chest, and trailing his knuckles between her breasts with the other. She shivered with each pass, pressing against him more. Soul’s teeth on her neck kept causing her shivers and moans.

Finally he slipped a hand under the silk to trace the curve of her breast and to hold its weight in his palm. Maka sighed, pushing her chest forward into his hand more. Soul kissed her temple, his other hand stroking her leg a little higher each time.

She gasped when he pinched her nipple between his fingers, rolling it back and forth. Maka had never thought of those as being sensitive, but each time he pinched she could not help but keen. It was not enough though. ”Soul, please? Please! More?”

She felt his chuckle as much as she heard it. “Shh, you are alright, little one. Relax.” If her brain had been working properly she would have mentioned that it was hard to relax when he kept pinching her tit and stroking her inner thigh just shy of where she was soaking through her small cloth.

Her whimper finally made him take pity on his poor little one. Soul started with a soft brush just against the edge of the cloth. Maka waited, as patiently as she could, trying not to simply grab his hand and move against it. But everything he had done so far had felt so amazing and she trusted him to know what to do.

The next pass he made ran down the center of the cloth, just pushing against her folds and something that made her jump. “Again.” One hand gripped his knee trying to gain any leverage possible and the other wrapped around his wrist.

He did it again as asked, dragging his thumb up and down while she bit her lip and watching the green silk covering his hand move ever so slightly with each caress. “Do you want more?” Soul asked, lips directly on her ear. Maka nodded; words were too much effort right now.

If this was somehow supposed to relieve the pressure building in her, he was doing a terrible job. She felt like she was going to ignite, or maybe melt. And his fingers! They were, oh, they were sliding just into her small cloth, playing with the coarse curls and the wetness between them. He might have asked if she was alright, or maybe if that was alright, but either way her answer was yes.

Maka kept his hand close, her nails biting into his skin as he used one finger to stroke her folds and feel how wet she was. Using just the pad of his finger, Soul circled her clitoris, being careful not to touch it directly and over stimulate her. She lurched forward, panting and moving her hips with him.

Before she could come, Soul moved his finger farther down just lightly brushing her entrance. “You can stop me, it is alright, little one.”

“Soul if you stop right now, I will-”

He leaned down and kissed her neck again, laving at the bruises already forming, and cutting her off. Her back was hot against his chest even through the silk and each time she rocked against his hand she ground down on his cock. With each moan it was becoming harder and harder to ignore his own aching desire for her. Soul finally let one finger sink into her, feeling her wet heat.

Maka froze in his arms. It was strange to feel him in her; it did not hurt but she stilled his wrist for a moment and then drew it closer, pushing his finger farther into her. Her breath was ragged when she moaned his name, arching back into him, and slowly moving his hand.

Soul was not faring much better; his little one was pleasuring herself with his hand, and if he just flicked her clit he had no doubt that she would come.

The fire sitting heavy in her stomach flared each time she pulled his finger deep inside her, but even when she moved faster, it was not enough. She needed more. Maka threw her head back against her dragon's shoulder, "Another." She needed to be released from this terribly wonderful pleasure clouding her mind. "Please! Soul, I need more!"

They shuddered together when he sank another finger into her. Maka was nearly sobbing with pleasure; she was so close to the edge of something, it was unbearable. She could smell the smoke clinging to Soul, feel his teeth on her neck, one arm wrapped around her to hold her against him and the other driving her insane with his fingers. Her mouth felt dry with each heaving breath, she was entirely surrounded by silk and dragon and with one quick movement she was lost.

Waves of pleasure crashed over her, stealing the very breath from her lungs, and all control of her body. She may have shook or she may have slumped down, it was hard to tell because the world kept spinning but she was finally able to breathe. Soul held her close, letting her come down slowly, feeling her tremble. He kissed her neck, her cheek, her hair, and pulled his fingers away gently. His little one's moan was low and sated, and he was looking forward to see how she would taste.

The fingers he pulled from her were wet and glistening, nearly dripping with Maka's pleasure. Licking them clean made him groan; he looked forward to being able to taste her fully. But that would have to wait for another night, as she was very nearly asleep in his lap.

She watched him bring his fingers to his mouth, but she had not anticipated such a vocal approval. Maka managed a small smile, pleased that he seemed to be enjoying her so well. It was hard to keep her eyes open though, she felt boneless and stupid with exhaustion, blinking up at Soul who just chuckled at her.

"That was beautiful, little one." He nuzzled her and began to purr. The green silk clung to her skin and made her eyes nearly glow in the candle light. Though his own pleasure was still evident, there was no way he could fairly ask any more of her. Soul half suspected this may have been her first encounter of any kind and it would be better for her to sleep. “Sleep now, I have you.”

He stretched out in the nest, holding her close and making sure his little one was comfortably situated. Maka snuggled close, cushioned on his chest, and wrapped in his arms. She hummed contentedly, finally satisfied and no longer burning for the dragon’s touch. Though, she would always want his rumbling purrs and the way he held her so tight, she thought with a small smile.

It must have been sometime later and Maka was unsure of what woke her; Soul was still fast asleep, snoring occasionally and twitching as he dreamed. His hands held her close, spread out over her skin and tucked under her. Every now and then his fingers would tap against her skin or clutch at the silk before relaxing and lying still again.

She watched this for a while, the cave dimly lit by the smoldering coals of the fire and small blue lights that she kept forgetting to ask about on the ceiling. Even in the pale light his scars stood out against his skin.

Some were dark, cuts that hadn’t healed well or taken too long to close. Others were red or pink, the still new skin was probably pretty sensitive. But mostly they were thin white lines over his hands, almost like spider silk draped over his body. Maka traced each on feeling the uneven surface, the slight puckering, each battle etched onto his hands.

Lightly turning his hand, she found a scar that ran from the top of his hand down to his palm; the same scar she had seen on his scales. She knew he had the same scars, the one across his chest was proof enough of that, but it was different to find the same scar twice on his hands.

She traced her thumb over the edge, old and faint, no different from the others really, but Maka pressed her lips to it anyway. She loved his hands.

Soul was always so gentle with her; even when they had first met and he had grabbed her by the waist and told her he would keep her, his hands hadn’t hurt her. He had handled her in his claws and never even scratched her.

And now he had brought her such pleasure with his hands. Those same fingers had been buried in her; the thought alone made her feel warm. Soul had touched her where she had never even thought to touch herself. Maka couldn’t even bring herself to feel greedy for wanting to feel more of him. His fingers were long and strong, dotted with freckles and even more scars, and they had reached so deep in her.

He had even licked them clean, she remembered seeing through the haze of pleasure he’d broken over her. Her mind betrayed her and let her imagination run wild with what sort of sounds and how he would look if she licked and sucked his fingers clean. She wondered if he would even like that.

Maka stopped herself from continuing that thought.

Turning his hand over to distract her, she followed each line across his palm, giggling when his hand flexed. He had a long life line and a strong love line. When she has been younger she had used some of the little pocket money she had to have her palm read by the traveling entertainers. She remembered a few of the lines, but didn’t remember what each one meant anymore. The traveler had predicted that she would live a long and healthy life, falling terribly ill only once. It occurred to Maka that it was also predicted that she would mother two children and while she had sworn off the idea at the time, it didn’t seem so terrible anymore.

Soul grunted and he captured her fingers as he rolled both of them over to get more comfortable. She was safe under his weight and he hadn’t even crushed her fingers. He huffed against her hair and started to purr, still sleeping but close to waking. Maka hid her smile and stopped tickling his palm; it would be mean to wake him up. She wove their fingers together and let her dragon rest.

Maybe it was less that she loved his hands...and more that she loved him.

Instead of making her nervous like it had before, she felt at ease with the idea. He was a gentle and kind man, if rather rough around the edges. But Soul did truly care about her and he respected her in ways she hadn’t expected from a man. She was happy with him and could imagine being happy with him for a long time.

This of course had nothing to do with the mind melting pleasure he had given her. Well, perhaps a bit. She knew she was supposed to return the favor. Maka had gathered that much from the books and overhearing conversations she had not wished to back in the village. Soul hadn’t even suggested it though. She had felt so tired afterwards too, she would have been practically useless to him.

Maka had her reservations; she was nervous to try and please him as he had done for her. Hopefully she would not try his patience if it took her a while before she could muster up the courage to try and pleasure him as well. She wanted to, certainly! She just didn’t very well know how to go about it.

She watched him sleep for a while, finally feeling tired herself. He was good to her; if he was willing to put up with her temper and hitting him with books, Soul would give her the time she needed. Feeling a little silly for worrying so much, she finally let herself relax.

Placing a soft kiss to his knuckles, Maka let herself drift back to sleep. There were things she would have to face in the morning but she wasn’t afraid. So long as she had Soul and his hands were gentle, they would be alright.


End file.
